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 21-year history of the event, as 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.

“I'm impressed with both teams. I think Coach McCabe did a great job getting his guys ready to go, and they played well,” said VMI head coach Jeff Shirk. “I'm excited about what we did today. W&L fought back, and even went up by a goal. We never put our heads down, we fought back and we found a way to finally win this thing. Our seniors this year are a great group, and they deserve this. This ends the fall on a very high note, and gives us motivation to work hard going into the spring season.”

This year's edition of the Lee-Jackson Classic was a hard-fought battle, as the contest featured 13 penalties. VMI was led by Moran's five goals and two assists, while the Generals were paced by Keigler, who had three goals and four assists. For their efforts, Moran and Keigler were named the winners of the Worrell-Fallon award, given to the Most Valuable Players from each team.

“Tim has the ability to take this team on his shoulders,” said Coach Shirk. “I think we now have guys who are willing and able to follow him, so he doesn't have to do it all by himself. He's our leader though, and you certainly saw that tonight.”

Other offensive leaders for VMI included Weimer, who had three scores in Friday's action. Long and Brett Leonard each scored twice, while Bosse, Robarge and Drew Leonard were each credited with a single goal. Sean McCoy made 14 saves in net for the Keydets in earning the victory.

In addition to Keigler, Koeneman led the Generals with four goals on the night and Daw had three goals for the home team.

VMI lacrosse is scheduled to open its spring season Saturday, Feb. 13 at Annapolis, Md. by taking on perennial power Navy. Game time is currently scheduled for noon.

A selection of pictures from Friday's Lee-Jackson Classic is expected to be available Saturday evening.