LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The men's lacrosse team went away for their first road mid-week contest of the season, heading upstate to face 11th-ranked Lynchburg in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest. The ranked Hornets proved to be dominant from start to finish, as the Quakers fell, 21-6.
The loss drops Guilford to 6-6, although they maintain a positive conference record of 3-2. Lynchburg, on the other hand, advances to 6-4, and 3-0 against ODAC foes.
Despite giving up as many goals in net, netminder Darius-Safavi Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) still made 16 saves on the night, a season-high, as his record drops to 6-5. On the opposite end, Tyler Hadley played the duration of the first half, qualifying for the victory while making a save. His record improved to 6-4.
Andrew Burch (Cary, N.C.) provided a bright spot for the Quaker offense, contributing four points. He led the team in both goals and assists with two; Seth Woods (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) had a two-point night with a score and a dish.
Jax Atkins (Mechanicsville, Va.) only won 10 out of a possible 25 faceoff chances, but forced three turnovers (a team-best) and had five ground balls. Ezekiel Gravley (Morganton, N.C.) led Guilford with eight ground balls on the night.
From the get go, the Quakers seemed to be immediately in duress, being forced to a turnover; and the Hornets pounced for their first goal just two minutes in. Lynchburg added on two more scores before the clock went under 10 minutes, seizing control of the contest. From that point on in the rest of the stanza, Guilford struggled to get any offensive presence on the home team's side, as the Hornets dominated in total shots, 16-6. Overall, UoL netted five more between the sticks to take a commanding 8-0 lead as the quarters transitioned.
As Lynchburg continued to make their statement through the second period by scoring three more, they were unable to keep their shutout intact. Burch got the Quakers on the scoreboard with his 13th goal of the season, as Guilford made the score 12-1 in the Hornets' favor. Meinhart joined his teammate; GC began to stir up some momentum down the stretch in the half, netting his 12th of the year to reduce their deficit to 10. Everything seemed to fall in the visitors' favor at this point; the Quakers took an extra-man opportunity as Burch got his second score with time running down, meaning that Lynchburg led by just nine goals at the halfway point, 12-3.
The Hornets were able to restore some normalcy as the third began; off of an initial Guilford turnover, Vanderburg scored the hosts' 13th of the contest. They rattled off a few more scores later on, GC still fought valiantly to stay intact, and got some fight from Seth Woods. He scored his first, with the dish from Burch to get the team's fourth as the third came to a close.
Similarly from stanzas prior, Guilford received a great opportunity per a man advantage, and Gavin Brown (Charleston, S.C.) took charge, with his 24th score of the year to give the Quakers five goals on the night. However, from the deficit they were dealt previously, Lynchburg was able to cruise in the last quarter, in an eventual 21-6 final.
Guilford returns back to Armfield for a home conference lacrosse doubleheader this upcoming Saturday, as they play right after the conclusion of the women's game. Start time against visiting Randolph-Macon on the 6th is set for 4:00 p.m.
