WINCHESTER, Va. -- The highs of Senior Day quickly shifted towards tournament play, as the men's lacrosse team headed back up to Winchester to battle Shenandoah for the second time in as many days in the ODAC first round. A dominant third period from the Hornets would be pivotal, ending the Quakers' season by the 14-4 scoreline.
GC's season comes to a close with an 8-10 record, and 4-5 in conference play. Their eight regular season wins marks the most in five years; as for their four conference victories, those marks the most since 2016. Shenandoah advances to the ODAC Quarterfinals, where they will face third-seeded Roanoke in Salem. Their record now stands at 11-7, with a 6-3 record against conference opponents.
Darius Safavi-Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) held his own for a large duration of the contest, but surrendered 14 goals with nine saves, and a .391 save percentage. Shenandoah keeper Mark Isabelle produced a clinical outing with 10 saves and only four goals scored between the posts.
Jax Atkins (Mechanicsville, Va.) managed to win eight of 22 from the faceoff, and tied for the most ground balls on the squad with five, along with teammate Seth Woods (Hilton Head Island, S.C.).
The four scores for the Quakers came from all different sources, as Gabe Alvarez (Cary, N.C.), Atkins, Jacob Mills (Culpeper, Va.), and Andrew Burch (Cary, N.C.) all netted one apiece. For the Hornets, Logan Clingerman scored a game-high six goals on 12 shots.
Unlike their previous matchup, Guilford came out of the gates firing on offense, immediately pressuring the Shenandoah defense with multiple shots in the first three minutes. However, a clock violation and ensuing turnover turned into an immediate spark for the home side, as Clingerman scored SU's first goal of the postseason. As was the case in previous outings from Guilford, Jax Atkins won the next faceoff, and Brown dished the ball off to Alvarez to counter straight back, knotting the contest at one apiece immediately. The Quakers would take their first lead against the Hornets all season, as Burch found his way past Isabelle soon thereafter. Tensions remained high, but momentum began to shift in SU's favor, getting their own offensive chances and taking chances at Safavi-Abbassi. Their relentlessness paid off, as they would tie the game up at two with just over six minutes to go in the period. It wouldn't be until roughly the last minute for the next change in pace; a costly turnover from Guilford turned into an immediate payoff, as the Hornets would take the lead back heading into the second.
An offensive stalemate ensued from the start of the stanza on, with neither team able to increase their goal total. 12 turnovers between both teams were committed in over 10 minutes, before Guilford finally broke the ice, as Mills set another milestone in his first postseason appearance; a goal off a Woods assist tied the contest once more. However, Shenandoah proved their might, scoring a pair in the last two minutes alone in crunch time. With plenty of contest left to play in this postseason showdown, the Hornets led the Quakers 5-3.
Clingerman was at it twice more for Shenandoah, as they took to staking a claim towards the next round of ODACs. His two goals in over five minutes of play in the third upped their lead to four, and the Quakers had difficulty replying to the now-hot Shenandoah offense. Four goals in five minutes from the Hornets helped them to take a commanding 11-3 lead as the last period approached.
Atkins was able to knot Guilford's fourth of the postseason contest, but Shenandoah used their assertive third quarter, along with a trio of scores, to down the Quakers 14-4, and ended their season.
This concludes the men's lacrosse season, and with their first postseason appearance in three years, there is much to look forward to for Coach Kelly's team in the years to come.
