LEXINGTON, Va. — The ninth-ranked Washington and Lee men’s lacrosse team will face-off against Centre in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at home on Saturday at 12:00 pm in the teams’ first-ever matchup against each other.
W&L is 16-4 overall this season and earned the ODAC’s automatic qualification into the Division III Championship after topping Lynchburg, 12-11, in the conference championship game. The Generals will be making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The team’s 16 wins, tied for fifth in Division III, are currently tied for the single-season program record, and the team is also tied for the seventh-longest active winning streak in the country at 10 games.
W&L owns one of the nation’s top offenses with the fourth-most goals (360) and the seventh-best scoring average (18.0 goals/game). Additionally, the Blue and White offense ranks second in clear percentage (0.908), fourth in assists per game (12.0), fifth in points per game (30.0) and seventh in average scoring margin (9.55).
The Generals are led into the game by 2023 ODAC Coach of the Year Gene McCabe and All-ODAC First Team selections in seniors Hudson Pokorny (Darien, Conn. / Darien) and Harris Hubbard (Madison, Miss. / Highland Park (Texas)) and junior Will Bou (Chevy Chase, Md. / Landon). Pokorny leads the high-powered offense with 95 points this season on 44 goals and 51 assists. He has already broken the program’s single-season assist (45) and points (90) records, and he needs just three more assists to break the ODAC single-season mark. A Third Team All-American, as announced by USA Lacrosse Magazine on Thursday, Pokorny looks to become the first player in program history to reach 100 points in a season this weekend.
Hubbard anchors a strong W&L defensive unit, and he added Honorable Mention All-America honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine this week as well. Now with three straight All-ODAC First Team citations, Hubbard leads the team and is tied for fourth in the conference with 29 caused turnovers this season to go along with 41 ground balls. Hubbard has appeared in all 20 games for the Blue and White and caused at least one turnover in 17 contests, with multiple in six.
Bou made his first all-conference appearance this season after having taken over 60 percent of the team’s face-off chances this season. Bou has won 227-of-366 battles at the X in 2023 for a 0.620 winning percentage to go along with a team-high 87 ground balls. Bou has the second-highest face-off winning percentage in the conference and his 87 ground balls are good for ninth.
In net, senior Warren Seeds (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster) has proved himself as a top goalkeeper in the ODAC. He claimed a third team all-conference nod this week but enters play with the best goals-against average (7.37) in the conference and a 0.583 save percentage.
The Colonels (13-3) received the Southern Athletic Association’s automatic qualification into the tournament field with a 10-9 win over Sewanee in the conference championship game. They then faced Pfeiffer on Wednesday in the NCAA Tournament First Round and prevailed by a score of 11-9 after outscoring the Falcons (17-2), 3-0, in the fourth quarter. Max Speers (2g, 1a) and Mick Ginnity (3a) led the way with three points each for the Centre offense.
Ryan Black and Will Hubbs lead the Colonels’ offense into Lexington this weekend with 63 and 57 points, respectively. Black (47) and Hubbs (42) are also the top-two goal scorers for an offense averaging 15.6 goals per game. Dylan Croft and Alex Mozingo have combined for a 0.608 face-off winning percentage across an even 400 attempts. Sammy Zickel will likely start between the pipes, as he enters play with 705:07 of action across 14 appearances and 13 starts this season. Zickel has a 10.38 goals-against average with an even 0.500 save percentage (122-244).
Should the Generals advance to the Round of 16 game at 3:00 pm on Sunday, they would face the winner of Saturday’s 3:00 pm contest between No. 14 Swarthmore Garnet and the Grove City Wolverines. W&L and Swarthmore have matched up five times in their histories, with the Generals winning three of the five. The two teams haven’t met, however, since 2012. The Generals and Wolverines have one all-time meeting, which came on April 21 of this season, a contest that favored the Blue and White, 20-10.
Von Mabbs leads the Garnet into battle against the Wolverines with 83 points on 55 goals and 28 assists. His efforts this season earned him the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year award, a First Team All-CC selection and a Third Team All-America nod from USA Lacrosse magazine. Swarthmore’s top face-off man, Will Bernstein, has won 224-of-420 (.533) this season and the Garnet will likely feature Ryan Pretzer in goal, with an 11.64 GAA and 0.536 save percentage in 793:36.
Rounding out this weekend’s teams is the Wolverines, who cruised into the tournament with a 27-3 win in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship game over Saint Vincent. Led by PAC Offensive Player of the Year and USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America Honorable Mention, Brett Gladstone, the GCC offense (16.1 goals/game) features three players with 60 or more points in Kobi Bui, Matt Blythe and Gladstone. Max Chmura leads the team with 264 face-off attempts (50-percent win rate), and Jack Petit (13.08 GAA) has seen the most time in goal with 495:29 across 13 games and 10 starts.
The two winning teams from Saturday’s games will face-off at Wilson Field on Sunday at 3:00 pm with a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals on the line. Live stats and video will be provided for all three games this weekend.