FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's field hockey Marlins gave the No. 18 University of Mary Washington Eagles all the competition they wanted through the first half of Sunday's non-conference match up.

The Eagles led just 2-1 at halftime.

But, the second half was dominated by a regrouped UMW team that put together a consistent offensive assault that tacked on six unanswered goals en route to an 8-1 win.

The Eagles (11-3) put things away with a three-goal surge in a span of six minutes midway through the half.  Kaitlyn Ripley (Stafford, Va./Stafford), Christine Downie (Arlington, Va./Yorktown), and Brenna Hill (McLean, Va./Langley) scored in the 52nd, the 55th, and the 58th minutes, respectively, to lift UMW into a 7-1 lead.

Courtney Rampey (Fredericksburg, Va./Courtland) scored the first two goals of the game for the Eagles, the last with 22:36 played in the half.  Four seconds after that goal, Virginia Wesleyan (5-6) answered, as Allie Lanna (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) took the ball and ripped it into the cage.

While UMW posted a slim 6-3 edge in shots over VWC in the first half, the Eagles expanded that in the second half with 14 shots, while limiting the Marlins to only two.  UMW also posted a 14-2 advantage in penalty corners.

Sophomore Kirsten Olson (Springfield, Va./Lorton South County) played in goal for the Marlins and recorded nine saves.  Clarie Gianelle (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) had two saves for the Eagles and Emily Badis (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) finished with one.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action at Sweet Briar College at 1 p.m.

--AMDG--