LYNCHBURG, Va. --- It is back to the winner's circle for the University of Lynchburg with the Hill City natives winning a third-straight clash of the Hornets for the ODAC championship with a 5-1 triumph over Shenandoah University on Saturday afternoon on Shellenberger Field.

Lynchburg (16-4), ranked 18th in the country by the NFHCA, increases its conference-record field hockey trophy count to 23 with its second title in the last three years. The victory also awards Lynchburg the league's automatic entry into the Division III Field Hockey Championship field.

Shenandoah (15-4), the 20th-ranked program in the country, will be among many teams with eyes towards both any remaining conference tournaments and the National Power Index (NPI) rankings to see if they will earn one of 10 at-large bids into the 28-team postseason bracket. The NCAA is slated to release the field hockey bracket on Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. ET on ncaa.com.

Saturday's contest saw two quick goals -- one by each program -- before Lynchburg closed with four unanswered tallies to mark its eighth win by four or more goals this season. Lynchburg's five goals are the most scored by a team in an ODAC title game since these two squads played for the title in 2018 with Lynchburg winning, 7-2.

Anna Dorrestijn scored the game's first goal on Saturday, giving Lynchburg a 1-0 lead just 44-seconds into the contest. It did not take long for Shenandoah to respond as Ellie Quinn knotted the game 1-all with 3:12 showing on the first quarter clock.

Lynchburg posted two goals into the second quarter to carry a 3-1 advantage into the break. Dorrestijn registered both goals, first turning Allie Freeman's feed into an assist in the 23rd minute and then turning in a pass from Maddie Schuchter just one tick before the two squads broke for halftime.

Danielle Coon made it 4-1 Lynchburg, scoring via an unassisted effort 6:22 in the third frame. Aurora Balsamo closed the game's scoring off a second assist from Freeman with 2:45 left in regulation.

Dorrestijn's three goals increased her ODAC-leading total to 21 in 20 games played. She also leads the ODAC with 56 points.

• ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
  • Randolph-Macon (2): Valentina Ambrogi-Torres, Cali Kujawa
  • Washington and Lee (2): Betty Boatwright, Zoe Dolfis
  • Shenandoah (3): Camryn DeLeva, Reagan Flory, Claudia Lenahan
  • Lynchburg (4): Hannah Christenbury, Anna Dorrestijn, Khanyisile Mzizi, Shay Schoones