BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's women's soccer team collided with the hottest team in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) on Saturday and could not do anything to cool them off.

Bridgewater College's Eagles recorded their ninth straight victory as they pinned a 3-0 loss on the visiting Marlins. Julia Baca (Mount Airy, Md./South Carroll) gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, Keri Rager (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) extended it to 2-0 in the 54th, and Grayson Mathews (Fredericksburg/Mountain View) capped the scoring with a goal in the 65th minute.

The victory marked the eighth straight shutout by the Eagles, who improved to 13-2 overall and to 8-1 in the ODAC. Virginia Wesleyan, shutout for the second consecutive game, dropped to 8-6-2 overall and to 6-3 in the ODAC.

While competition through the first half was fairly even, with Bridgewater owning a slim 5-4 advantate in shots, the host team picked up the pace in the second half.  The Eagles outshot the Marlins 12-4 in the half and finished with a 17-8 advantage overall. 

Sophomore Megan Gerhart (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) recorded seven saves in goal for Virginia Wesleyan. Krista Kelly (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle Antrim) posted five saves for Bridgewater.

Virginia Wesleyan will compete again on Tuesday, Oct. 21, hosting Eastern Mennonite University in an ODAC game beginning at 5 p.m.  The game was originally slated for Oct. 15 but was rescheduled due to inclement weather in the Virginia Beach area.

--AMDG--