(ASHLAND, Va.) – The Randolph-Macon women's lacrosse team put a scare into No. 24 Lynchburg on Wednesday evening, but unfortunately the Hornets were able to pull away in the second half. It was the Yellow Jackets fourth game in the last six playing a nationally ranked team.

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 15, No. 24 Lynchburg 18

Venue: Day Field

Records: R-MC 2-5, 1-2 ODAC; UL 6-3, 3-1

How It Happened

• It may as well have been Fireworks Night at Day Field as both teams exploded for eight goals in the opening 4:29 of action. Most of that belonged to the Jackets as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead. After the Hornets opened the game with a goal 27 seconds in, Erin Mattone (Sr., Little Silver, N.J. / Red Bank Catholic) answered 19 seconds later on an assist by Kendall Griffis (Sr., Cherry Hill, N.J. / Bishop Eustace).
• Just 32 seconds after that, Bella Samper (Sr., Spring, Texas / Klein Oak) gave the Jackets the lead. After winning the draw, McKenzie Hynson (Jr., Pasadena, Md. / ) made it 3-1 11 seconds later.
• Goals by Natalie Webster (Sr., Midlotian, Va. / Midlothian), Samper, and Mattone closed the run to give Randolph-Macon a 6-1 lead 3:55 into the game. Another Samper strike gave R-MC a 7-2 lead.
• Lynchwood began to chip away at the deficit on the efforts of Kelsi Trevisan. She scored four goals in the last 15 minutes of the half, the last of which tied the game 10-10 just before halftime. She added the first two in the second half to give the Hornets their first lead since the first goal of the game. Trevisan finished the game with six goals and two assists.
• Momentum stayed on the side of the Hornets as they slowly extended their lead to five in the second half. Mattone was able to score her third of the game on an assist from Amelia Davis (Fr., Davidsonville, Md. / South River) and Kayla Ross (So., Gambrills, Md. / Arundel) scored in the final minute, but time ran out on the Jackets.

Inside The Numbers

• Draw controls heavily aided the Yellow Jackets, especially at the start of the game as they won the first 10. Five directly led to R-MC goals, including the first three. Overall Randolph-Macon led 21-14 in draws.
• Kaylyn Hewes (Sr., Linthicum, Md. / North County) led the game in draw controls with six. Hynson added five.
• Shots favored the Hornets 44-26, but Caraline Cypher (Jr., Havre de Grace, Md. / Havre de Grace) did her best to keep the Jackets in the game with a career best 16 saves. It's the fourth time this season she's reached double figures in stops.
• Three players scored at least three goals for the Jackets. Webster tallied four to lead the team, while Samper and Mattone scored three each.

Up Next

Saturday's game at Guilford has been cancelled, so the next contest for the Jackets will be a week from tonight when R-MC hosts Shenandoah.