VIRGINIA BEACH -- Reid Peterson was not about to give up much of anything in Sunday's soccer game against Washington and Lee University.

While different Generals players attempted to slip past him, roll around him, or power through him, the 6-foot-3, 200 pound Virginia Wesleyan College defender stood his ground consistently in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference contest played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

Peterson (Virginia Beach/Salem) was just part of a strong defensive showing by the Marlins however, helping Virginia Wesleyan to an impressive 1-0 victory over the previously undefeated Generals.  While VWC improved to 8-4-2 overall and to 4-2 in the league, Washington and Lee dropped to 6-1-5 overall and to 4-1-2 in the league.

"Our guys battled the whole game," said VWC head coach Chris Mills. "We had some young guys step up and give us good, solid minutes. It was a good win leading into a tough week."

Sunday's match featured three of the league's leading scorers in WLU's junior Zach Colby (Prarie Villag, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) and Virginia Wesleyan's senior Brian Cornell (Front Royal/Warren County) and rookie Kyle Fisher (Virginia Beach/Landstown).

Only two of them scored.

That happened in the 24th minute after the Marlins moved downfield where Cornell took the ball and crossed it to the right.  Fisher, who entered the game seconds earlier, received the ball and ripped it into the net to give Virginia Wesleyan the 1-0 lead.  The assist was the fifth of the season for Cornell, who leads Marlin scoring with 19 points, and the goal was the sixth for Fisher, who ranks second in scoring for VWC.

Virginia Wesleyan played an aggressive offensive game from the start and just missed taking the lead in the third minute when a shot by junior Josh McNamara (Springfield/West Springfield) hit the crossbar.  Sophomore Josh Kemp (Frisco, Texas/Addison Trinity Christian) was a catalyst in the attack, keeping the ball moving toward the goal and getting into position for scoring opportunities by teammates.

The offense was complemented by the alert defensive effort that kepth the Generals under thumb. Peterson helped lead that effort, which included the backline play of junior Brandon St. Amour (Stafford/Mountain View), sophomore Brian Le (Springfield/West Springfield), and rookieJordan Petitt (Springfield/West Springfield).

Washington and Lee's best scoring opportunities came headers by senior Parker Wolfinger (Greer, S.C./Riverside) and rookie Patrick Barry (West Roxbury, Mass./Roxbury Latin), but both close-in shots were followed by VWC goalie Connor Kirkham (Centerville/Chantilly Westfield) who stopped both.

Kirkham turned in an outstanding effort, recording nine saves against 14 Washington and Lee shots. He made six saves in the first half.  Washington and Lee goalie Albert Civitarese (Bridgeville, Pa./Sewickley Academy) finished with five saves.

Both teams finished with 14 shots, seven in each half. Washington and Lee recorded a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Wednesday, Oct. 16, hosting Lynchburg College at 7 p.m. on Foster Field at the Trinder Center. 

--AMDG--