LEXINGTON, VA – The Lynchburg College field hockey team defeated Washington & Lee 3-2 in overtime to wrap up the #2 seed in the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament. With the win, Lynchburg head coach Enza Steele earned her 400th career collegiate victory, with all 400 wins coming in her 29 years as the head mentor for LC.

The game was tightly contested throughout the night, with momentum swinging constantly throughout the game, but LC would put the first goal on the board as Jessi Bowman (Midlothian, VA/Clover Hill) scored 13 minutes into the first half off a Samantha Howard (Fairfax Station, VA/W.T. Woodson) pass to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. Washington & Lee’s Kendall Korte scored off a penalty corner with 5:25 remaining in the first half to knot the game at 1-1. The Hornets and the Generals would each make key defensive stands to send the game into the half tied 1-1.

The Generals would strike first in the second half as Kelly Tran tapped in a shot by Sallie Armstrong off a penalty corner 13 minutes into the stanza. The Hornets wasted no time answering the Generals goal, as Allie Weir (Richmond, VA/James River) raced down the field to score just 17 seconds later to tie the game at 2-2. The Hornets received a penalty corner at the end of regulation, and the Generals would make a defensive stand to send the game into sudden-death overtime. After a LC timeout, Howard would redirect a penalty corner from Jenny Weir (Richmond, VA/James River) into the cage to send the Hornets to a 3-2 victory.

Goalies Sarah Cates (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) of LC and Tara Rubenstein of W&L (10-5/5-2 ODAC) made timely saves for their respective squads as Cates recorded four stops and Rubenstein tallied six saves. LC outshot W&L 12-7 and held a 15-7 edge in penalty corners.

Lynchburg (15-4/6-1 ODAC) extends its win streak to eight games and will host #7 seed Virginia Wesleyan College on Saturday, October 27 in the Quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament at a time to be determined.

10/24/2007, Lynchburg College Sports Information Office