LEXINGTON, Va. -- The duo of Kevin Hill and Brett Leonard combined for 11 points today as the Keydets (1-1) knocked off Presbyterian College (0-2) by a final of 13-6 on a sunny day at Delaney Field. Hill, a junior, dished out a career-high five assists and scored one goal while freshman Leonard turned in four goals and an assist as the Keydets (1-1) picked up their first win of the season.

Leonard has now connected on five goals in his first two career games for the Keydets, and is second on the team with six points. For Hill, his five assists were just two off the VMI school record set back in 1991, and moves him into 13th all- time (36) with nearly two full seasons remaining.

The Keydets came out firing today in their home opener, racking up 59 shots in the contest to their opponents' 31. Along with the production from Hill and Leonard, the Keydets had two other players with multiple goals, as freshmen Bobby Davis and Tim Moran picked up their first career goals with three and two, respectively.

"I thought that most important thing today was that we came out and played hard," said head coach Jeff Shirk. We got some of the young guys some confidence, and coach St. Laurent had the offense running well. We got the looks, and it's only a matter of time before we finish more than we did today."

Hill and Leonard accounted for the first three scores of the game as VMI jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Moran finished out a solid first period for the team with a buzzer-beating goal to push the lead to 4-0 after one.

Leonard and fellow fourth-classman Davis provided the scoring for the Keydets in the second period on a pair of assists from Hill and one from junior David Jacobs. The Keydets led 6-1 at the 10:51 mark of the second period.

The Blue Hose got things going in the second period as well, matching VMI with three of their own goals to pull within 7- 3 at the half. The game had the potential to be a little closer, but VMI freshman goalie Sean McCoy continued to impress in his second start. McCoy turned away six shots in the opening half (10 total), and would eventually pick up his first victory after 50+ minutes in the cage.

The Keydets continued to strike in the third period, and put together a 4-0 run in a span of just over four-minutes thanks to goals by Moran, Davis, Jacobs and Leonard. Junior Matt Harrison rounded out the scoring for VMI in the fourth period.

In the game, VMI played a total of 11 first-year's who accounted for 10 of the team's 13 goals, and the short learning curve that coach Shirk was hoping for has played true so far in many respects.

"I think that both guys (Leonard & Davis) really matured today," added Shirk. They are learning what it takes to play Division I lacrosse, and also what it takes to be successful at it. The play so far of all the freshmen bodes well for our program this year and in the future."

The Keydets also had a successful day clearing the ball, going 19-24 while the Blue Hose managed just 10-27. VMI scooped up 71 groundballs in the game, while Presbyterian picked up 45. Blue Hose goalie Pat Slaughter had a busy day facing 59 shots, but hauled in 16 saves in the game.

The Keydets will now prepare for their toughest challenge of the year as they travel to Charlottesville, Va. next Monday to take on the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers. The game begins at 7:00 p.m. from Klockner Stadium.

2007-03-01