Posted: Apr 04, 2009
SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed in a 23-13 victory over Hampden-Sydney at Kerr Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win keeps the Maroons unbeaten with a 12-0 mark, 2-0 in ODAC play while the Tigers dropped to 4-6, 2-1 in the ODAC.
Roanoke, ranked second nationally in this week's USILA poll, remained undefeated by doing what they do best - score. The seventh 20-goal game is one shy of tying the 1992 and 1993 teams for most in a season.
The Maroons dominated the Tigers on paper, with a 59-37 shots advantage, winning 30-of-38 face-offs and 62-33 on groundballs.
Roanoke took control early with an 8-4 lead, including the first seven goals of the game. They even held a 22-5 advantage in groundballs after the first quarter. Pat March provided the early game highlights, scoring the first goal with a man-down and the second was an acrobatic shot in the air through traffic to make it 2-0 in the first four minutes of the game.
After the 7-0 lead Roanoke put up in the first nine minutes of play, Hampden-Sydney countered with a run of their own, scoring five of the next seven goals to make the score 9-5 with 11:24 left in the second period. The Tigers took advantage of Roanoke's penalties, which totaled 11 by game's end, with three man-up goals during that span.
Six different players scored unanswered goals for Roanoke to spread the game open, 17-6 with 11:04 remaining in the third quarter.
HSC made one final push, scoring five unanswered goals to close to within six, 17-11 with 1:24 remaining in the third.
But the Maroons responded, scoring six of the next seven goals to claim their 12th win of the season. Longstick defender Stephen Simmons provided the fourth-quarter highlight reels, scoring two goals, including one in transition off an assist from goalie and high-school teammate Jake Dorsey. The 12 wins tie the 1978, 1992 and 1995 teams for the second-best season win total in school-history.
March led Roanoke with two goals and three assists for five points. Chas Carlson added a season-best three goals along with an assist and five groundballs. Trey Keeley netted a season-best three goals while Brian Foley had a goal and a team-best three assists. Jeff Keating finished with two goals and one assist.
Simmons had a monster game for the Maroons with nine groundballs along with his two fourth-quarter goals, both season-bests. Justin Tuma and Greg Khanzadian each won 10-of-14 face-offs and collected 11 and seven groundballs, respectively. Sam Love also collected six groundballs in a solid defensive effort. Dorsey had 13 saves in goal for Roanoke.
Kyle Jett led the Tigers with five goals and an assist. Michah Keller added two goals and two assists. Mark Bagby finished with 12 saves while Cole Hawthorne finished with two goals and a team-best six groundballs.
The men will travel to Greensboro, NC to play against Guilford in ODAC action. The Maroons are 25-2 in the series against the Quakers since 1981 and are riding a 17-game win-streak since 1992. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.
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