For immediate release – 3/28/2015 - #373
Hornets Defend Shellenberger and take down their Rivals

LYNCHBURG, VA – The #8 Lynchburg College men's lacrosse defense shut down #19 Roanoke College in an important Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game, winning 13-6 on Saturday night.  The winner of this yearly top-20 matchup has generally locked up the top seed in the end of the season ODAC tournament.

LC scored quickly in the first quarter.  Chris Hower scooped up the opening groundball giving LC the faceoff win and the initial possession.  Todd Galvin's first shot was saved, but Aaron Murphy pulled in the rebound and sent the ball back to Galvin.  Galvin's second attempt would not be denied.

LC went down a man soon after the following faceoff, but the man-down defense stepped up and Chris Hawley stopped a shot to prevent any change in the scoreboard.  Lynchburg then went on a power play of its own and continued its recent hot streak.  The Hornets attacked the Maroon defense, and Sean Ahearn fired one in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead two and a half minutes in.  The rest of the quarter remained scoreless as Ahearn and Evan Leeder caused turnovers, while Hawley made two more stops to preserve the lead.

In the second, the offense took over.  Lynchburg scored four times in a span of just over five minutes during the quarter.  Colin McGuire caught a pass from Galvin at 11:39 and finished it in the back of the net to go up 3-0.  Hower then caused a turnover which started a quick transition, which led Luke Ernst to scoring a quick one, his first of the season.  Leading scorer Austin Stewart then joined the party putting the lead at 5-0.  The onslaught was completed at 6:28, once again with Galvin hitting McGuire, and once again showing the Hornets special teams domination.

Roanoke scored for the first time with five minutes remaining, and LC went into the half with a 6-1 lead, but due to a late penalty, RC started the half with a man advantage.

The special teams stepped up once again.  Hunter Thompson forced a turnover on the man-down, scooped the ball up, sprinted down and hit Murphy who scored in the man-down.  Bobby Distler won the following faceoff and Austin Stewart added another man-down goal, all within the opening minute.  The Maroons kept it going, picking up the following faceoff and scoring two seconds later.

Jacob Fuller and Murphy added goals later in the third, which offset a Roanoke tally to put the score at 10-3.  Lynchburg won the opening faceoff and held the ball until Murphy hit Stewart for the 11-3 lead.  Following another Hornet penalty, Cole Barrett caused a turnover; Ernst picked up the groundball and sprinted the field.  Ernst hit Galvin who finished off the man-down goal. 

Roanoke responded with two quick ones to put the score at 12-5.  Galvin finished off his hat trick with 8:47 left to end the Lynchburg scoring.  RC added a late tally, but it would not change the outcome.

The stout Hornet defense limited the Maroons to half of their season average in goals.  LC caused 11 turnovers and the pressure forced RC into committing five more throughout the game.  Distler also provided a huge presence, winning 13 of 22 attempts at the 'X' and scooping up five groundballs.

Will Pilat and Kevin Jackson each scored two goals for Roanoke (6-4 overall, 3-1 ODAC).  Dylan Torrey made 10 saves in the loss.

Lynchburg (6-2, 2-0) embarks on a difficult road trip this week.  The Hornets open up the trip at #15 Washington and Lee University (7-4, 2-1) on Wednesday with another key conference game at 7 p.m.

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