VIRGINIA BEACH -- Anytime a ball goes deep into Virginia Wesleyan College defense, it's almost certain to attract the attention of Krista Whitmer.

Whether it's with her feet, her body, or her head, Whitmer (Lancaster, Pa./Millersville) finds a way to stop the ball and thwart opponent advances. 

That was definitely the situation Wednesday as Whitmer anchored a stellar effort by the VWC defense en route to helping the Marlins to a big 2-0 Old Dominion Athletic Conference win over the Generals of Washington & Lee University on Foster Field at the Trinder Center.

It was the first ODAC loss of the season in eight games for the No. 23-ranked Generals (9-2-2), who scattered six shots in each half against the Marlins, but could not spark anything consistently offensively.

The reason for that was an alert, deep VWC defense that hawked the ball every time in crossed mid-field.  Kim McKinney (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), Hanna Winkel (Lebanon, Mo./Lebanon), and Brittini Dennis (Stephens City, Va./Sherando) were among the Marlins to come through defensively in the first half, and Angel Horowitz (Bushkill, Pa./East Stroudsburg North),Lizzy Parr (Columbia, Md./Atholton), Caitlyn Bishop (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne), and Danielle Stephens (Round Hill, Va./Purcellville Loudon Valley) helped keep the Generals contained in the second half.

All together, it was an impressive effort by the No. 17-ranked Marlins (13-1, 6-1), who ripped off 19 shots, saw two hit for goals and two others denied by the posts.  But, the goals scored were crowd pleasers, one in each half.

Both scores were runners, with junior Christina Fernandes (Tinton Falls, N.J./Tinton Falls) putting the first ball into the back of the net.  It started with a pass from Bre Ingargiola (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) in toward the middle to junior Jessica Edelman (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional).  Edelman found Fernandes running in from the left for a 15 yard kick that sailed into the net in the 31st minute.

In the second half, it was a long pass from Nicole Martinez (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor), down the middle of the field to Fernandes.  She moved past a couple Generals defenders and got the ball to Ingargiola streaking in from the right.  She ripped the ball away from the goal to the left, giving VWC a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute.

Katherine Rush (Cornelius, N.C./Providence Day School), Madeline Forrestel (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville), and Holley Beasley (Virginia Beach/Norfolk Academy) generated most of the offense for W&L, but could not find a break in the VWC defense.

Virginia Wesleyan finished with a 19-12 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Heather Deisher (Cape Cirardeau, Mo./Cape Central) anchored the defensive effort for Washington & Lee, which included a six-save afternoon for goalie Emily Leary (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Kings).

Sophomore keeperErica Keil (Wayne, N.J./DePaul Catholic) finished with four saves.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Oct. 15, hosting the Wasps of Emory & Henry College in an ODAC contest beginning at 2 p.m. at the Trinder Center.

--AMDG--