HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College takes on the University of Lynchburg on Saturday, April 29, at 7 p.m. at Shellenberger Field, with the top seed and home-field advantage on the line for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament.

H-SC comes into the game on an eight-game win streak and boasts a 13-3 overall record and is 8-0 in the ODAC, while Lynchburg has won two straight, coming in with an 11-5 overall record, and is 7-1 in the ODAC. The Tigers are ranked 16th by USA Lacrosse Magazine, 19th by Inside Lacrosse, and are receiving votes from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). The Hornets are ranked 13th by both USILA and Inside Lacrosse and are ranked 20th by USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Overall, Lynchburg has gotten the better of the match-up, with them boasting a 22-10 record against H-SC, and it has won the last six matchups in both regular and postseason action. The last match-up between the two sides was in the ODAC championship game in 2022, in which Lynchburg took the victory 18-7 on the neutral field. The last time the Tigers took a win in the series was on April 28, 2018, when they grabbed a 14-13 home result. The last road victory against the Hornets came on April 20, 2013, when H-SC came away with a 12-8 win.

The teams have played eight common opponents on the year, with both teams going 6-2 against those opponents. Of the eight opponents, only both teams only played two common non-conference opponents, with both teams falling to Christopher Newport and Lynchburg taking a win over Cabrini while H-SC fell to Cabrini early in the year. In terms of ODAC opponents, the only difference in the schedule was Lynchburg played Shenandoah and H-SC played against Averett. Both teams took overtime wins over Washington and Lee, with the Hornets taking a 14-13 win in overtime and the Tigers taking an 11-10 win in four overtimes. The Hornets' only hiccup in ODAC play was on the road at Randolph-Macon on April 15, which ended 13-9. H-SC took a 17-9 victory over Randolph-Macon almost a month prior on March, 18.

The match-up with be a battle of two of the best defensive teams in not only the ODAC but the country as a whole. The Tigers are the top defensive in the ODAC and are tied for 14th in the country in goals per game allowed at 8.06. Lynchburg is ranked third in the ODAC at 9.19 goals per game allowed which ranks them 40th in the country.

On offense, H-SC has two players ranked in the top 10 of the ODAC in points with junior Ray O'Brien (Scituate, MA) ranking fourth with 66 and junior Michael Leone (Vienna) ranking tenth with 54. The Tigers have two more players who rank in the top 30 with both senior Nick Thompson (Midlothian) and senior Talmadge Hope (Richmond) at 29th with 31 points. O'Brien ranks second in the ODAC in goals with 46 and 11th in assists with 20. Leone is top 10 in assists in the conference, ranking seventh with 23. H-SC ranks fourth in total offense, scoring 16.31 goals per game, scoring 261 goals, and ranking fourth in assists with 163. The Tigers will also look to get offensive output from junior Patrick Saunders (Alexandria), sophomore Campion White (Apex, NC), and freshman Patrick Hanes (Raleigh, NC).

On defense, H-SC has four players within the top 10 and five within the top 15 within the ODAC in caused turnovers. Sophomore Conor Kilfeather (Wyndmoor, PA) leads the Tigers and ranks fifth in the ODAC with 26. Junior Thomas Harry (Troy) and senior Nick Thompson (Issaquah, WA) are in a tie for seventh with 24 caused turnovers and senior Jack Fechter (Potomac, MD) is ninth with 22. Sophomore Gaines Weis (Richmond) has 20 caused turnovers which are tied for 13th in the conference. Also, big contributors on the defensive end this year for H-SC are senior Jack Limon (Gainsville, FL) and junior Drew Duffy (Norfolk).

The face-off dot will likely be dominated by two players for the Tigers, the first being Thompson and the second being freshman Connor Erlenbach (Midlothian). Thompson has taken the majority of the face-offs this season, going 100-204 this year for a 49 percent win rate. Erlenbach has taken 115 face-offs this season, winning 61 of them for a 53 percent win rate.

In net, there will be a battle between two of the best goalies in the ODAC, with Tyler Hadley in net for the Hornets and fifth-year Will Perry (Roanoke) in net for the Tigers. Perry has played and started in 16 games, playing 720.11 minutes and making 128 saves. He boasts a 9-3 record, allowing 8.66 goals against on average, and has a 55.2 save percentage. Both goalies rank in the top three in goals against average and save percentage.