VIRGINIA BEACH -- Krista Witmer's alert eye saw the left side of Foster Field opening up early in the second half of Wednesday's women's soccer showdown between Virginia Wesleyan College and Christopher Newport University.

The hard-nosed junior from Lancaster, Pa. (Millersville) yelled for the ball and sophomore Nicole Martinez (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) knocked about five feet to the left where Witmer ripped it deep left to streaking juniorBre Ingargiola (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point).  Ingargiola kept it moving it with a solid cross to the right to junior Jessica Edelman (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) came through with a hard shot on the run to put the ball into the back of the net.

That all happened in the 51st minute in the Hampton Roads battle, giving Virginia Wesleyan a lead it would not surrender.  The Marlins posted a 1-0 victory, extending its non-losing streak in the series with CNU to 11 consecutive games.  CNU's last win in the series was in 2002.

Virginia Wesleyan (3-0), ranked No. 4 in the most recent South Region rankings, dominated possession time most of the game, but experienced some frustration as scoring drives resulted in numerous kicks directed at CNU goalie Meghan Gumbs (Mastic, N.Y./New Kent, Va.).  Cumbs kept her ground and produced eight saves, all in the first half.

Speed and quickness enabled Virginia Wesleyan to beat the CNU defense consistently in the first half to produce scoring opportunities.  At one point in the half the Marlins a trio in a breakaway, but a tap on the ball to set up the kick was too strong and the Gumbs was able to get to the ball

CNU (1-2) picked up the pace in the second half and matched the Marlins in shots, each with five, but sophomore Erica Keil (Wayne, N.J./DePaul Catholic) took in three of the Captains' attempts en route to the shut out. 

Virginia Wesleyan outshot CNU 16-8 and held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

The Marlins return to competition on Saturday, Sept. 10, playing in the Captains' Classic at CNU.  VWC takes on New Jersey's Kean University (2-1) at 1 p.m.  VWC also plays on Sunday, Sept. 11 in the tournament, taking on Western Connecticut State University (2-0), currently ranked No. 8 in the New England region, at 1 p.m.

--AMDG-