Lynchburg, Va. -- Just one more win, and it's back where it belongs.

The No. 19-ranked University of Lynchburg field hockey team moved one victory closer to another Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship Thursday evening, topping No. 19 Shenandoah by a 3-1 tally on Shellenberger Field.

Lynchburg will take on No. 16-ranked and top-seeded Washington and Lee for the title Saturday in Lexington in a rematch of the 2021 championship. The start time is yet to be determined.

Marlou Wendriks scored Lynchburg's first and third goals, while Aaryn Boatwright hammered home the game-winner. Kayla Brady made five saves in goal for the Hornets.

Lynchburg got on the board with the very first shot of the game. After back-and-forth play in the midfield for the first few minutes, the Hornets' Sarah McCollum stole back control of the ball just outside of the SU circle, and the senior played it left to Wendriks. Lynchburg's star freshman put a neat move on the SU goalie and scored in the fifth minute for an early lead. Both goalkeepers – Lynchburg's Brady and Shenandoah's Taylor Swann – made a pair of saves to preserve the 1-0 game through the first period.

SU didn't take long to equalize in the second. The third-seeded visitors earned a penalty corner in the first minute of the quarter and broke through in the 19th minute, when Mairead McKibbin's pass skipped under Brady to Mackenzie Watkins, who tied the game. Brady made three more saves before halftime to keep the score tied, 1-1.

The second half was all Lynchburg. The Hornets earned a corner just 16 seconds into the half, and Brittany Claybaugh sent the insert to Ryleigh Cameron, who immediately played the ball back left to Boatwright. The junior's shot found the board to put Lynchburg back in front for good. Lynchburg controlled possession through the quarter but didn't break through again until the fourth. Then, in the 52nd minute, Wendriks dribbled into the circle and unleashed a backhand shot that skied past the defense for a 3-1 Lynchburg advantage.

Lynchburg threatened again late with a pair of penalty corners, but the score held, propelling the Hornets into the ODAC final for the sixth-consecutive season.

The win was the eighth in a row for Lynchburg's field hockey team, which entered the postseason ranked fifth in NCAA Division III's Region VI.

Visit Lynchburg athletics' home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts from Lynchburg athletics.

Give Lynchburg Sports a like on Facebook, and follow Lynchburg athletics on Instagram and Twitter.

--LYN--