Hayley Soutter wasn’t ready for Washington and Lee’s historic season to end. The senior attacker scored with 1:24 remaining in overtime to lift the Generals to a 7-6 victory over William Smith in the NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse quarterfinals Sunday in Lexington, Va.
Washington and Lee (19-1) will play TCNJ in the NCAA semifinals next Saturday in Salem, Va. It’s the Generals first-ever final four appearance.
Washington and Lee scored two straight goals midway through the second half to take a 6-5 lead with 13:31 left to play.
William Smith (20-2) tied the game with 8:32 remaining when senior midfielder Allie Flaherty scored unassisted. W&L won the ensuing draw control and held the ball for the remainder of regulation. But the Generals, playing with tired legs after long weather delays forced Saturday's game against Catholic to end just shy of 9 p.m., could not get a shot off.
Washington and Lee goalie Elliot Gilbert made a hip save to close out the first three-minute overtime session. The Generals won the draw for the second overtime period, held the ball and won the game when Soutter took a feed from Sara Holland and shot it into the upper right corner of the goal.
Washington and Lee has won 15 straight games, tying a program record.
TCNJ Ousts Middlebury
TCNJ avenged its only loss of the season, defeating defending NCAA champion Middlebury 8-4 in an NCAA quarterfinal Sunday in Ewing, N.J. The Lions make their 25th final four appearance and first since 2011. They have won more national championships (13) than any other program.
TCNJ (18-1) jumped out to a 6-0 lead, blanking the Panthers (16-5) for the first 36 minutes, 38 seconds. Middlebury came to life with three goals in a five-minute span, but could draw no closer.
Mia Blackman led the Lions with three goals.
Gettysburg, Trinity Advance
The other NCAA semifinal will pit Gettysburg against Trinity.
The Bullets (19-3) are back in the final four for the first time in six years thanks to a 10-2 victory over Salisbury.
Gettysburg held the Sea Gulls scoreless for the first 41 minutes, 22 seconds while methodically building a 5-0 lead. Dana King got Salisbury on the board with 17:54 remaining, but the Bullets responded with two straight goals and five of the last six in a dominant home quarterfinal win.
Katie Landry led Gettysburg with four goals and an assist.
The Bantams’ 10-5 win over York followed a similar script. Trinity (17-4) shut out the Spartans for the first 43 minutes, seizing a 9-0 lead and rolling from there. Kiley Coffey and Grace O’Donnell scored three goals apiece for the Bantams, who are looking to make their sixth consecutive appearance in the national championship game.
Division III Quarterfinals
TCNJ 8, Middlebury 4
Washington & Lee 7, William Smith 6
Gettysburg 10, Salisbury 2
Trinity 10, York 5