Lexington, Va. -- Rust + Mitchell = an overtime W.

The University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team defeated Washington and Lee in overtime on the road Saturday afternoon. Riley Mitchell scored the game-winning goal on an assist from Jake Rust to cap off the 14-13 victory. 

Mitchell scored the first goal of the game 1:05 into play for the 13th-ranked Hornets. He finished the game with three goals and four assists. His seven points are a career-high. 

Spencer Vandenberg also tallied a hat trick and scored his first goal of the game 2:43 after Mitchell's first. 

The Hornets went on a four-goal run to open the second quarter finding success against No. 6 Washington and Lee's man defense. Gabe Menchaca scored his first-collegiate goal during the run that put the Hornets up 9-4 before halftime. Tyler Hadley made eight saves in the first half.

Beginning with 4:16 left in the third quarter, W&L ripped off six-straight goals and took a 12-11 lead. 

Vandenberg stopped the skid with his third score of the day on an assist from Riley Hastings. Vandenberg has seven goals in his last four contests. 

Washington and Lee retook the lead with 41 seconds left in regulation. The Generals won the ensuing faceoff but turned it over on an uncontested pass behind their own net. Rust set up Mitchell for the game-tying goal with eight seconds on the clock. 

The two teams went to overtime for the first time since 2019 in a 13-13 tie.

Michael Kraus won the overtime faceoff, and Lynchburg took a timeout. Kraus won 14 faceoffs on the day. Hadley tied his career-high with 22 saves.

Lynchburg methodically worked through its offense and Rust took a shot wide, but the Hornets maintained possession. Then, Rust found Mitchell just like he did at the end of regulation, but this time, Mitchell's goal ended the game with a 14-13 win for the Hornets. 

Lynchburg defeated W&L in a regular-season road game for the first time since 2015. Lynchburg won an Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship (2021) and semifinal game (2018) in Lexington against the Generals during that span.

The Hornets (6-3, 2-0 ODAC) host Randolph on Friday, March 31 for their One Love/Step-up Game. Learn more about the One Love Foundation here and the Step-up Program here.

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--LYN--