LEXINGTON, Va. – Tim Moran scored five goals and Jacob Weimer notched the game-winner with seven and a half minutes to play as the VMI Keydets won the 2009 Lee-Jackson Lacrosse Classic, 15-13, over the Washington & Lee Generals Friday night at Wilson Field in Lexington. The victory was only VMI's third-ever in the event; the Keydets also won in 1988 and 2005.

After a back-and-forth third quarter, featuring multiple ties and lead changes, the two teams played a rough, physical first half of the final quarter. Finally at the 7:31 mark, Weimer was able to get free to the right of Generals' netminder Ned Lundvall to give VMI a 12-11 lead, an advantage it would not relinquish.

After a defensively oriented first several minutes before a crowd of nearly 900 fans, VMI opened the scoring with a goal by Moran at 6:39 of the opening period. Moran's linemate Brett Leonard then set up the game's second goal by finding Keith Long with a pass at the top of the key. Long fired a shot top shelf, beating the W&L goalkeeper to make it 2-0, which was the score after one period.

The Keydets took command of the first half with two early goals in the second period. Leonard struck again, this time scoring off a pass from Moran at the 12:58 mark. That pushed the visitors lead to 3-0, and it grew even further just eight seconds later. Off the resultant face-off, VMI midfielder Stephen Robarge grabbed the groundball and was able to take it in himself, firing a shot past the W&L netminder to make it 4-0.

The Generals came right back, as Will Keigler tallied the first of his three goals to make it 4-1, but Weimer responded with a marker just 30 seconds later, pushing the lead back to four, 5-1. W&L then went on a three-goal run over the next six minutes, chopping the lead to just one, 5-4, on a goal by Spence Daw with 5:10 remaining the opening half.

Moran scored again for VMI with 4:41 on the clock, making it 6-4, but W&L responded again, cutting the lead back to a single score, 6-5, on a Drew Koeneman score with 35 seconds left in the half. Moran answered, splitting multiple General defenders and getting off a powerful shot while falling down, a shot that found the back of the net to give VMI a 7-5 lead at halftime.

The Keydets controlled the pace in the first half, as despite being outshot 26-18, VMI outgained W&L in groundballs by eight, 21-13. VMI also dominated in the face-off X, winning 9 of 13 in the first 30 minutes of action.

The opening minutes of the third quarter saw Keoneman and Moran trade goals again, making it 8-6 at the 12:54 mark of the third. In the sixth minute of third period play, W&L had a two-goal run that tied the game for the first time, 8-8 with 9:08 left in the third. VMI answered less than a minute later, as a long pass downfield found Brett Leonard. Leonard executed a perfect one-touch pass to Colin Bosse, who found the back of the net to put VMI back up, 9-8.

That lead lasted only to the 6:48 mark, as Cooper Brown tied the game for the home team, and less than a minute later, Keigler gave the Generals the lead for the first time, 10-9. That lead lasted exactly 53 seconds, as Drew Leonard scored while falling down near the crease. After an official's consultation, the goal stood and VMI had tied the score, 10-10. W&L would retake the lead at the 4:01 mark, but Brett Leonard scored with 2:31 left in the period to knot the game, 11-11, and set up Weimer's goal midway through the final period.

Following the eventual game-winner, Moran scored his fifth goal of the night off a pass from Long, making it 13-11. The Generals got back within a goal, as Max Mancuso scored with 6:04 to go, but VMI put the game away with a two-goal spurt. The mini-run was capped by Long's second goal of the game, a score that came with 1:30 remaining. Koeneman would notch his fourth goal with 1:03 left to account for the final margin, 15-13.

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2009-10-03