Lynchburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team stormed to an early 5-0 lead over Roanoke and held on to the advantage for the entire contest to secure an ODAC semifinal victory, 15-11, on Thursday night at Shellenberger Field.

The No. 14/11 Hornets (13-5, 9-1) had senior goalkeeper Andrew Miller perform his best in the biggest spot. He stopped a career-high 21 shots, tied for the ninth most in a single game in the ODAC this season, and allowed just 11 goals for .656 save percentage. He's been on a hot streak as that marked his fourth consecutive game with a save percentage over .650. Eight of his 21 saves came in the first quarter to help the Hornets sustain its five-goal edge.

Lynchburg's stretch of five straight goals came in the first 10 minutes of the affair to take the lead. Junior midfielder Parker Sealey sparked the run by netting one just 1:13 into the outing. Sophomore middie Brodie Mason capped the rally by bagging a feed from fellow sophomore middie Kolbe Haug, who also notched the goal preceding Mason's. The Hornets held onto an advantage of four-or-more points for the remainder of the competition.

Roanoke got on the board first with 19 seconds to go in the opening period after Wyatt Whitlow scored for his first of three points. The second quarter saw both sides go blow-for-blow with each team trading haymakers until fifth year midfielder Grant Voigt sparked a three-goal run to end the half with 3:32 left on the clock. Fifth year middie Jake Rust netted back-to-back goals to end the first half and gave the Hornets a 10-3 lead heading into the intermission.

Luke Kammerman and Julian Kammerman sandwiched goals between one from junior attackman Riley Hastings in the first five minutes of the second half. Following a score from sophomore middie Liam Holman, the Maroons bagged two goals apiece for the remainder of the affair, inching their way back. In the fourth quarter, Roanoke came within four goals of Lynchburg with 6:52 on the clock, but Lynchburg's defense held stout and allowed just two goals for the rest of the outing while scoring two. 

Holman and Rust each produced a hat trick and dished out one assist in tonight's matchup to lead the Hornets offensively. Junior attackman Spencer Vandenberg was closed behind with three points on one goal and two assists. Whitlow and the Kammerman brothers paced the offense for the Maroons, nabbing three points apiece. Whitlow tallied two goals and one assist, Julian Kammerman bagged a hat trick, and Luke Kammerman finished with one goal and two apples. 

With tonight's win, the men's lacrosse team has earned a spot in the ODAC Championship game. Lynchburg is set to face top-seeded Washington and Lee for the conference title on Saturday, May 3 at 2 p.m. in Lexington, Va. Tickets and more information will be made available on the men's lacrosse schedule page on lynchburgsports.com in the near future.

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