Lexington, Va. -- Nikki Simpao (Stafford, Va.) continued her spectacular season, scoring a hat trick to lead the Lynchburg College field hockey team to a 7-1, blowout Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament semifinal victory over Roanoke Friday night in Lexington.

Simpao scored the go-ahead goal unassisted in the 15th minute and added insurance in the 20th and 54th to extend the rout. It was the fifth hat trick of the season for the All-American and conference's leading scorer, and she also dished out a pair of assists.

Kayla Copeman (Williamsburg, Va.), Karissa LeMaire (Rehoboth Beach, Del.), Jackie Lerro (Royersford, Pa.), and Isabella Eldridge (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) each scored for the Hornets as well. Laurel Nicks (Yorktown, Va.) played splendidly in goal as well, saving four of the Maroons' five shots-on-goal.

THE RUNDOWN

Final: No. 2 Lynchburg 7, No. 3 Roanoke 1

Records: Lynchburg 16-3, Roanoke 14-5

Venue: W&L Turf Field, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

- Copeman put Lynchburg on the board in the eighth minute with an unassisted score, but Roanoke's Lauren Heffron tied it in the 14th minute.

- It wasn't all-even for long, as Simpao chipped in her 25th goal of the season less than a minute later.

- LeMaire was the first to take out insurance, scoring unassisted in the 19th minute. Simpao added her second score in the next minute as LC carried a 4-1 lead into halftime.

- Lerro's 27th goal of the season came in the 50th minute, assisted by Simpao, and Simpao found Eldridge on a fast break three minutes later to make it 6-1. Simpao scored her third of the game and 27th of the season in the 54th minute to bring the score to its final standing.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Hornets will move into the ODAC finals for the first time since 2014, when they last won the league. Lynchburg will take on top seed and host Washington and Lee, which beat Shenandoah in Friday's early game, at 5 p.m. The Generals won the first meeting between the two teams in Lexington Sept. 27, 4-3 in overtime.

--LC--