VIRGINIA BEACH -- Final seconds began to click off the clock at Marlins Field on Saturday as the Lynchburg College Hornets attacked aggressively, trying to tack one more goal onto their 4-1 lead over the host Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan College.

But, the aggressive offense was met with an equally-aggressive response by the Marlin defense that got their sticks into the mix and denied the Hornets any kind of shot in front of the cage. 

It was the kind of all-out effort the Marlins produced from start-to-finish, highlighted by a strong second half that saw the Marlins give up just one goal.  That came on a penalty stroke by Courtney Gillette (Dover, Del./Caesar Rodney) in the 47th minute of the game.

Lynchburg found its scoring early however, and rode the goals to an eighth straight victory that improved the Hornets' record to 7-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and to 12-6 overall. VWC, which closes its season on Monday, Oct. 27, hosting Sweet Briar College at 4:30 p.m., fell to 3-13 overall and to 1-6 in the league.

Kelsey Link (Spotsylvania/Spotsylvania) provided the Hornets with their early lead on a pair of short shots within four minutes of each other.  She put the ball into the left corner of the cage on a rebound shot at the 6:28 mark and tallied her second goal from five yards out with 9:46 played.

Catherine Rogerson (Midlothian/Cosby) pushed Lynchburg into a 3-0 lead in the 13th minute, finishing off a cross from Taylor Quillen (Milton, Del./Sussex Technical).

Virginia Wesleyan advanced within striking distance several times in the first half, but could not find a scoring break until the 23rd minute.  Senior Tanya Pucci (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark), a defensive leader for the Marlins, put the ball through the Lynchburg defense for the goal, her first of the season. 

Trailing 3-1 at the half, the Marlins returned to the field to play a determined second half and dominated action for much of the final 35 minutes. After Quillen got off a shot for Lynchburg, the Marlins produced the next four, including three by senior Skyler Weaver (Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) and another by junior Sam Jackson (Manassas/Osbourn), all in the first 11 minutes of the half.

Gillette's penalty stroke came next and marked the only scoring in an intense second half of competition.

Final numbers favored Lynchburg, which finished with the advantages in shots (21-8) and penalty corners (16-4).

Virginia Wesleyan senior goalie Lindsay Baker (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) produced 11 saves, highlighted by several on close range shots by the Hornets.  Beka Hess (Virginia Beach/Frank W. Cox) finished with five saves for Lynchburg.

--AMDG--