The University of Mary Washington men's lacrosse team used a balanced attack and a strong fourth quarter to defeat Shenandoah University, 14-11, on Wednesday afternoon in Winchester, Va. The Eagles improve to 2-7 on the season.
After the defenses on both sides started strongly, Shenandoah scored the game's first two goals, with 5:20 and 4:26 left in the first quarter. UMW cut the deficit in half with 3:37 remaining, as J.D. Nozemack scored on an Ethan Castleman assist.
The Eagles grabbed the lead in the second, tallying the first two goals. J.C. Reynolds scored on a Nozemack assist with 11:33 remaining, and Cameron Walker followed at 7:58 on a Kristophe Newman feed. After a Hornets goal tied the score, Newman followed with 3:46 to go to give UMW a 4-3 halftime advantage.
Nozemack opened the third quarter scoring before Shenandoah scored four straight goals to take a 7-5 advantage, but Newman closed the third with an unassisted score t cut the margin to 7-6.
UMW knotted the score to open the fourth quarter, as Garrett Keogh scored with 14:28 left, before SU reeled off three straight to take a 10-7 lead. From there, the Eagles dominated the final 11 minutes, running off seven straight goals to put the game away. Brandon Davis started the run with 10:53 remaining on a Jake Pyke assist. Reynolds scored with 9:45 to go, and Walker added a man-up score 8:32 left to tie the score at 10-10.
Jack-Henry Smith scored with 7:37 to go to put the Eagles ahead for good, and Walker scored on a Davis assist with 6:08 remaining. Nozemack scored on a Pyke assist just six seconds later, and Logan Green capped the run at 5:20. SU capped the scoring with the affair settled in the final minutes.
The Eagles led in shots, 49-35, as well as ground balls, 30-29.The Eagles won 17-29 faceoffs, and Eagle goalkeeper Riley Green made nine saves.
Mary Washington will be back in action on Saturday when they visit Southern Virginia University at 4:00 p.m.