LYNCHBURG, VA (MAY 2, 2010)—The #19 nationally-ranked Hampden-Sydney lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaker today against #10 Lynchburg College in the ODAC semifinals. After a defensive slugfest in the first half, the Hornets were able to hold the Tigers scoreless during the decisive third quarter. Hampden-Sydney staged a furious late rally but it was not enough, as the Tigers fell 10-7.

Senior captain Kyle Jett (Suffolk, VA/Nansemond Suffolk) opened the game's scoring about two minutes into play with an unassisted strike from the right side. Lynchburg was able to respond with a goal six minutes later to even the score at one, and both defenses buckled down and shut out the opposing offenses for the rest of the quarter.

The stellar defensive play continued into the second quarter, with neither side scoring again until Lynchburg broke through with seven minutes left in the quarter. They scored again three minutes later to make the score 3-1, but the Tigers were able to take advantage of an extra man opportunity a minute later when junior Cole Hawthorne (Richmond, VA/Collegiate) found a cutting Carter Mavromatis (Virginia Beach, VA/Cape Henry), who ripped a shot past the goalie. Only a minute and a half later, Hawthorne raced around his defender and buried a strike to knot things up at thee. The Hornets scored with just under a minute left to go up 4-3 and take that lead into the locker room. Hampden-Sydney had an excellent chance to tie things up in the closing seconds, but Jett's shot hit the post and time expired.

Lynchburg was able to control the action in the third quarter and scored three goals while holding the Tigers scoreless to take a 7-3 lead into the final period of play. Things looked bleak when Lynchburg scored twice in the first two minutes, but sophomore Ben Clarke (Virginia Beach, VA/Norfolk Academy) was able to find the net for the Tigers to pull within 9-4. Lynchburg responded with a goal before the never-say-die Tigers really turned up the pressure.

Clarke scored another goal on an assist from sophomore Nate Cundy (Midlothian, VA/James River), with seven minutes to go, before sophomore Micah Keller (Richmond, VA/Christchurch) was able to break through and score one of his own with five and a half minutes remaining to make the score 10-6. Hampden-Sydney was able to use the stellar face-off play of freshman Brad Mostowy (Atlanta, GA/Trinity Pawling) to control the ball for the majority of the quarter, and it paid off again just moments later when Mostowy found Keller who buried another shot to make the score 10-7 with just under four minutes to play.

With the momentum clearly on the side of the Tigers, several opportunities barely missed in the closing minutes, including having one goal disallowed and another that bounced off the post. Hampden-Sydney continued to apply pressure right up until the final whistle, but were not quite able to complete the comeback. Several Tigers had excellent days, including senior captain Mark Bagby (Boston, MA/Marshfield), whose play between the pipes kept the Tigers in it late. Senior captain Daniel Martin (Charlottesville, VA/Albermarle) caused four turnovers and grabbed three ground balls as well. Mostowy won 12 of 19 face-offs on the day and also grabbed six ground balls to move his season total to 92, which is the third most in a season in Hampden-Sydney history.

With his two goals, Clarke reached the 50-point plateau for the first time in his career, and Keller's two tallies give him 47 on the season, which is good enough for the fourth most in Hampden-Sydney history. With his first quarter goal, Jett upped his program record for single-season points by a Tiger midfielder to 68, which is also tied for the third most points from any position. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 13-5 on the year, and tied with the 2002 squad for the most wins in program history.