College Men’s Lacrosse Final – Guilford 7, Randolph-Macon 6

ASHLAND, Va. – Jace Sowden’s goal with 3:04 left in regulation gave visiting Guilford College a 7-6 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’s lacrosse victory at Randolph-Macon College Saturday.

The Quakers improved to 8-2 (3-2 ODAC) with their first win over the Yellow Jackets (4-8, 1-3 ODAC) since 2006 and their first in Ashland since 1991. Guilford is off to its best start since the 1986 club won nine of its first 11 outings.

Neither team led by more than two goals in the tightly contested game. Randolph-Macon scored first, but the Quakers reeled off three straight goals and led at halftime, 3-2. Guilford maintained the lead for most of the second half until The Yellow Jackets’ tied the score at 6-6 on Coleman Adams’ tally with 3:47 remaining. The Quakers’ Connor Manning won the ensuing face-off, which led to Brownlee finding Sowden with the game winner.

Randolph-Macon’s Nick Benhoff won his 11th draw in 15 chances, but the Yellow Jackets failed to capitalize as both teams turned the ball over in a frenetic final three minutes. Randolph-Macon’s Andrew Venezia and Miles Muncie were sent off for separate major penalties with 48 seconds left, which left the Quakers with a two-man advantage. After both teams took timeouts, Guilford successfully spread the field and ran out the clock.

Guilford senior goalie Thomas Deane turned in arguably his finest game of the year with a season-best 18 saves, eight in the first quarter and 11 in the opening half. Sowden paced the offense with a game-high three goals and teammate Duncan Fitzgerald added two. Brownlee and Dylan Haupt both had a goal and an assist for the Quakers.

Alex Camilliere scored a team-high three goals for Randolph-Macon, which held a 36-17 edge in shots. Kyle Keepers added two assists. Benhoff picked up a game-best nine ground balls and goalie Brian Davies made 11 stops in goal.

Coach Tom Carmean’s Quakers visit Ferrum College Wednesday (4/8) night in a nonconference game.