Lexington, Va. -- Despite a hat trick from midfielder Colin Dean, the No. 3-ranked University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team fell, 12-10, at Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Washington and Lee Friday evening on the road.

The host Generals raced out to a 5-0 lead with 2:29 remaining in the first period before graduate student Brooks Poli got Lynchburg on the board with 1:05 left in the opening frame. The Hornets trailed 5-1 after one.

After a W&L goal made it a 6-1 deficit, Lynchburg uncorked a 5-0 run, capped by a scoop-and-score off the face-off by senior Clayton Jones to tie the game, 6-6, with 4:38 remaining before halftime. Jones' goal capped a flurry of four Lynchburg goals in a 2:22 span, and the teams remained tied at 6 at intermission.

The Generals countered with three goals to Lynchburg's one in the third to carry a 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter. After Dean's second goal, one of the man-up variety with 12:14 left in the game, W&L carried another 3-0 run to lead 12-8 with 7:40 to play.

Hornet goals by Riley Mitchell and Dean cut the deficit to 12-10 with 1:18 left in the game, but Lynchburg could muster no more offense as the Generals escaped with victory.

Mitchell added a pair of goals on nine shots, Dean chipped in an assist, and junior Kyle Lewis tallied a goal and an assist for the Hornets (6-2, 2-1 ODAC). Face-off man Quintin Ricci stayed hot, winning a season-best 20 bouts at the X in 26 attempts and scooping a team-best 13 ground balls. Junior Chris Darminio had four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

W&L's Taylor Witherell led the Generals (4-2, 3-1) with three goals and two assists.

Lynchburg out-shot the Generals by a 52-32 margin in the game.

The Hornets will have a short turnaround to put the defeat behind them as the two teams will meet again Saturday night at 7 on Lynchburg's Shellenberger Field in a non-conference matchup.

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--LYN--