The third-ranked men’s lacrosse team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship with a 10-4 victory over Washington and Lee University on Sunday. It is the fourth ODAC title for the Hornets in program history.
The men head to the 2012 NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse championship with a bye into the second round. The tournament’s first round begins Wednesday, May 9 featuring 24 of the 28 teams with just four teams earning byes: Cortland State, Tufts University, Salisbury University and LC.
The Hornets will host the winner of a first round match-up between Denison University and Adrian College this weekend on a day and time to be announced later in the week. The victor advances into the national quarterfinals and will be one of just eight teams remaining.
Lynchburg enters the tournament having won 16 straight games. The Hornets have reached the NCAA Tournament six times, last in 2008.
The NCAA Title Game is scheduled for Sunday, May 27 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Check the complete bracket.
During the ODAC championship game, junior Pat Ohrem registered three goals, while seniors Matt Manzo and Andrew Wilfong each tallied two goals in the game to lead LC. Senior goalie Franc Cook made 10 saves.
Washington and Lee jumped out early with two goals in the first quarter due in part to the Generals’ goalie Warren Berenis who made several key stops.
LC answered back in the second quarter with three goals. Ohrem scored the first goal at 8:41 before junior Vin Curran tied up the game at two with 37 seconds left in the half. Junior Max Voumard registered a goal with just 13 seconds left in the quarter, giving Lynchburg a 3-2 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Lynchburg registered another three tallies while limiting the Generals to only one. Wilfong and Ohrem found the back of the net in the first four minutes before the Generals scored their first goal in over 23 minutes of play. Manzo scored from senior Dylan Hoff and LC ended the third ahead 6-3.
Manzo and Wilfong put up two goals to push the lead to five early in the fourth. Washington and Lee’s Jack Reuter converted a shot at 7:45 to make the score 8-4, but Ohrem netted a goal from Manzo just 26 seconds later. Junior attack Derek Sweet ended the scoring with two minutes on the game clock from freshman Jay Goldsmith.
“They were hungry for this, it’s a testament to those guys,” said LC head coach Steve Koudelka. “We’ve had a bullseye on our chest the last couple of months, and we’ve answered it.”
Senior Franc Cook made 10 stops for the Hornets (17-1), while W&L’s Berenis had 15 saves. Wilfong had two goals and two assists for LC, while Manzo also added an assist to his two scores. Senior Matt Jernack won 13 of his 17 face-off attempts.
Meehan, Mac Means, Garrett Paglia and Jack Reuter each had goals for W&L (10-9).
All-ODAC Tournament Team
Lynchburg: Franc Cook, Max Voumard, Pat Ohrem, Jon Gill
Washington and Lee: Scott Meehan, Luke Heinsohn, Warren Berenis
Roanoke: Brayden Gerrie and Jeff Keating
Virginia Wesleyan: Adam Nycz and Travis Puls
