Lynchburg, Va. -- Perfection. The weather. The overall record. Winning the championship.

That was the word used to describe the Lynchburg field hockey team's season in an all but perfect year. 

University of Lynchburg's field hockey team used two fourth quarter goals to top Washington and Lee University 3-1 to earn the program's third straight, and 21st overall, Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship Sunday afternoon on Shellenberger Field. 

The Hornets defense was on display right from the opening whistle as the visting Generals outshot Lynchburg 3-1 in the first period, with two of them on goal. Lynchburg's goalkeeper Laurel Nicks made one save and Hayden Shockley made a defensive save to keep W&L off the board.

In the second period, Lynchburg's offense came to life as the Hornets took seven shots in the period, with the seventh resulting in a Hornets goal. Junior Brittany Claybaugh took that seventh shot and found the back of the Generals cage for an unassisted goal to give Lynchburg a 1-0 advantage before half time. 

After playing a scoreless third period, the Hornets (9-0) tacked on another goal in the opening seconds of the fourth. Senior Emily Dudley played a ball into the circle from the right side that found Emily Yanes who deflected it in, giving Lynchburg a 2-0 edge. 

The Generals (8-2) responded two minutes later with a goal off the stick of Grace Amaden to cut the Lynchburg lead in half.

In the 49th minute, the Hornets doubled the lead once again. Dudley found Yanes one more time as the sophomore put another one past the W&L keeper to put the Hornets up 3-1 sealing the champpionship run. 

The Lynchburg defense was stellar all afternoon as seniors Taylor Green, Alex Rebman and Hayden Shockley kept the W&L offense at bay. Nicks recorded five saves in six chances on the afternoon and earned her ninth win of the year. 

The championship is Lynchburg's third straight ODAC title and the 21st in program history. It was the Hornets' 29th overall appearance in the title game. 

"Winning never gets old," head coach Enza Steele exclaimed.

Dudley, Claybaugh, senior Alexis Brown, and sophomore Kessa Romero represented Lynchburg on the all-tournament team. They were joined by Emily Wooten and Alexis Wright from Roanoke; Kelsey Jones and Isabella Morande from Shenandoah; and Amaden, Tess Munesses and Sara Amil from W&L. 

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--LYN--