LYNCHBURG, VA (April 21, 2007)— In front of a crowd of over 1,000 fans, Hampden-Sydney's 13th-ranked lacrosse team fell behind early, 4-1, in the first quarter but held on late to beat the 7th-ranked Lynchburg Hornets, 10-9, in an important ODAC contest on Saturday night. SeniorsRyan Harrington (Dallas, TX/Plano) and William Shell (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's)led the Tigers, scoring three goals apiece. With the win, the Tigers improve to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, while Lynchburg drops to 10-3 on the season and 3-2 in the conference.
Hampden-Sydney fell behind early as the Hornets scored four goals in the first quarter to build an early 4-1 advantage over the Tigers. With only 0:46 remaining in the quarter, Colin Dunn (Chevy Chase, MD/Trinity Pawling) scored an unassisted goal to cut the lead to two, 4-2. In the second quarter, Hampden-Sydney settled down as Harrington and Shell scored one goal each and held Lynchburg to only one tally, cutting the Hornets' halftime advantage to one goal, 5-4.
In the third quarter, Shell and Thomas Jennings (Murfreesboro, TN/Webb School) scored one goal apiece, giving the Tigers a 6-5 lead with 3:54 remaining in the quarter. Lynchburg answered with a goal only seconds later to tie the game, 6-6. In final two minutes of the third quarter, the Tigers notched three unanswered goals to take a 9-6 lead into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, Hampden-Sydney took a 10-7 lead, but two Lynchburg goals made the game interesting in the final two minutes. With 0:30 remaining, Lynchburg had possession and was able to fire two shots but were unable to find the back of the net, giving Hampden-Sydney the 10-9 victory.
Harrington led the Tigers with three goals and one assist, while Shell notched three goals as well. Despite missing the first half due to an illness, Jennings was able to score one goal and dish out an assist in limited action. Senior Scott Russell (Darien, CT/Darien) recorded 17 saves and grabbed eight groundballs for the Tigers in 60 minutes of action. The Tigers won 9-of-22 face-offs and were 1-of-7 on man-up opportunities. Hampden-Sydney recorded 29 ground balls on the evening and were successful on 13-of-21 clear attempts.
Hampden-Sydney will return to action on Saturday, April 28, as Hampden-Sydney will host ODAC-rival Randolph-Macon College at Hellmuth-Pritzlaff Field for Senior Day. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm.
