Lynchburg, Va. -- It was one of those matches where it all came together.

Passes were crisp. Communication was constant. Defenders stepped in front of balls.

And the soccer ball found the back of the net.

University of Lynchburg's men's soccer team rode four different goal-scorers to a 5-1 victory over Guilford, earning the Hornets' a record 17th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship Sunday afternoon on Shellenberger Field.

The Hornets (8-3-1) wasted little time getting into the attack. Lynchburg controlled possession from the outset, the pressure building up until Carter Averette found Luke Mega on the left side of the box, and the Hornets' leading goal-scorer did what he does best. As the first Lynchburg goal went up on the scoreboard, Mega raced to the bench and lifted the No. 9 jersey of teammate Nick Musumeci, who was unable to be with the team for the championship match, and carried it above his head onto the field in the freshman's honor.

Play resumed, and it was more of the same for Lynchburg. In the 14th minute, Manzi Shalita played a light pass to Bhayle Kearns at the top of the box, and Kearns hammered it into the left side of the net for a 2-0 Lynchburg lead.

The Hornets maintained control throughout the half but couldn't break through again until the 44th minute, when Brennan Lagana jumped in front of a Quakers backward pass and beat the only defender between the freshman and the goal to ensure Lynchburg was comfortably ahead.

Lynchburg's defense was stellar in the first half, holding Guilford without a single shot in the period.

The second stanza was more of the same, but the Hornets didn't add on until the 80th minute. At that time, Quakers keeper Zach Van Kampen made one of his seven saves on a Joey Daly shot, but Ben Mackey was right there to boot the ball into the net for a 4-0 lead.

Guilford (6-3-2) got on the board in the final minute thanks to a Bruno Gonzalez goal, and Lagana again intercepted a Quakers pass and scored with just 3 seconds on the clock to make it 5-1 in favor of Lynchburg.

The championship is Lynchburg's first since the 2017 season, when the Hornets defeated Washington and Lee, 2-1, on Shellenberger Field. It's Lynchburg's 17th overall ODAC title and seventh tournament championship since the league moved to that format in 1989. The four-goal margin is the largest in the ODAC championship match since the Hornets bested Hampden-Sydney, also by a 5-1 score, for the 2010 trophy.

Averette, Nick Foley, Mackey, and Mega represented the Hornets on the all-tournament team. They were joined by Van Kampen, Logan Haustein, and Kenny Nzekwe from Guilford; Nate Carey and Chris Jerrild from Roanoke; and PJ LeBel and Gray Sutter from Hampden-Sydney.

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--LYN--