GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It was truly a day to remember for the men's lacrosse squad, celebrating the seniors on Saturday afternoon. More celebrations were abound as Guilford defeating Virginia Wesleyan 16-7, officially locking in a postseason spot, and move forward to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament in the upcoming days.
GC rounds out their regular season slate at 8-9, 4-5 in the ODAC. VWU finishes 2024 with a 5-11 record, 2-7 against conference opponents.
Darius Safavi-Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) had a fine day behind the netposts, tallying 13 saves with a save percentage of .650. Opposing netminder Zack Tucker struggled against the red-hot Guilford offense, allowing 16 goals, but still made 14 saves in the contest.
Jax Atkins (Mechanicsville, Va.) was his usual self in the faceoff circle, winning 14 out of a possible 18 opportunities. Ezekiel Gravely (Morganton, N.C.) led the squad in ground balls with seven, and fellow senior Drew Sizemore (Greensboro, N.C.) accounted for the most caused turnovers for GC with three.
Gabe Alvarez (Cary, N.C.) made it nine scores in his last two appearances, scoring a game-high five goals. Jacob Mills (Culpeper, Va.) continued to find the back of the net, in stellar form. He netted his second-consecutive hat-trick, with four goals overall. Gavin Brown (Charleston, S.C.) tied the team in overall points with two scores, and three assists on the afternoon. Sam Edwards netted a hat-trick for Virginia Wesleyan in the loss.
The Quakers got their Senior Day festivities off to the best start possible, as Mills continued his hot scoring streak with the game's opening goal, off the assist from Atkins. The freshman was at it once more, netting a solo score for Guilford's early 2-0 lead. The senior Alvarez doubled himself on his final home start as a Quaker, and Mills completed one of the earliest hat tricks by GC this season, as Guilford were running away with the contest early, already up 5-0. The Marlins would get one back through Sebastian Reynolds, but the first period was firmly in the home side's control, as the second approached.
Virginia Wesleyan were tracking some momentum, as under a minute passed in the second stanza, Sam Edwards doubled his team's score. Both offenses were lively, as both were hot to score, but to no avail. A few clutch saves from both opposing goalies kept the score in check, including an extra-man opportunity from the opposition, but Guilford was able to negate it with sound defensive play. With another man-up chance for the Marlins, they took advantage with their third straight goal, crawling back to within two scores with just over seven minutes left in the half. The senior Andrew Burch (Cary, N.C.) assured their momentum came to a close, picking up his first goal of the contest, and bringing Guilford's lead once more to three goals. The next few minutes were plagued by turnovers from both teams, but VWU were able to attain yet another man-up opportunity due to a Guilford penalty. The Marlins got back within two goals again with Reynolds' second of the game, bringing the score to 6-4, as time ticked down in the half. A chaotic last minute ensued at Armfield, first with a turnover from the Quakers, the Marlins were able to get the crucial clear and take a timeout with just 15 seconds remaining. Off the brief break, the visitors were able to squeak in a last-second score, as Guilford only led by a single goal at the half in the make-or-break contest.
Needing some momentum to break away once more, the Quakers reverted back to their first quarter surge, with Woods and Brown on the move for goals seven and eight, and their lead back up to three. Edwards was able to stop the bleeding briefly, as the Marlins got their sixth, but GC quickly got back on the board after Atkins won the ensuing faceoff, Bashwyn Fitch (Charleston, S.C.) with his first of the contest, and a 9-6 lead in the high scoring quarter. Guilford reached the double-digit goal threshold for the second game straight, getting hot at the right time, Alvarez attaining his hat-trick as the clock went under ten minutes. Burch added to the celebrations, netting his second, as momentum clearly shifted into the Quakers' favor, 11-6. The graduate student was the highlight of the period, first clearing the 30-goal threshold on the year, and then scoring once more to put the Quakers up by seven, the ODAC playoffs seemingly in reach.
The offensive outbursts of the previous stanza were a mighty boost for Guilford, all but clinching their first conference tournament appearance since 2021. VWU were able to get a goal back in their favor, but Mills continued his torrid streak with his fourth goal, and the team added on two more, as the Quakers coasted to the 16-7 win, and trek on to May.
A quick turnaround is to be for Guilford, as they will immediately head to Shenandoah as the seventh seed in the tournament, facing off against the sixth-seeded Hornets on Sunday, April 28. Start time is set for 3:00 p.m.
