VIRGINIA BEACH -- For 61 minutes Thursday the Lynchburg College battle with Virginia Wesleyan College in women's soccer followed the script it has for so many years before.

Heads-up, aggressive defense by both sides kept the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game scoreless on VWC's Foster Field at the Trinder Center. For those teams, that has pretty much been the norm since 2001.  In 18 games since, the Hornets and Marlins have produced five scoreless draws, eight ties overall, and nine one-goal outcomes.

Lynchburg's Marina Clark (Charlottesville/Western Albemarle) changed momentum of the game however, in the 62nd minute. After VWC was slapped with a foul, Clark took a free kick from about 40 yards out on the left.  To the amazement of the large crowd at the Trinder Center, the kick had the distance and velocity to find its way into the net to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead en route to a 2-0 victory.

The host Marlins (4-4-2) battled back to challenge with several shots in an attempt to tie the score, but could not connect.  Lynchburg (8-0, 3-0 ODAC), ranked No. 6 nationally, put the win on ice when Morgan Singer (Yorktown/Grafton) scored from about five yards in front of the net, finishing off a cross from Jade Woll (Woodbridge/Woodbridge).

Lynchburg's late goals offset a strong defensive effort by the Marlins, led by senior Sherlanda Buskey (Williamsburg/Jamestown), who repeatedly stopped the ball when it got too close to the goal.  She wiped out the Hornets' lone serious scoring attempt in the first half by blocking a shot by an open singer with 3:44 remaining before the halftime break.

Buskey's efforts combined with those junior Allie Ketzler (Long Valley, N.C./West Morris Central), sophomore Abigail Nickle (Pennsville, N.J./Pennsville Memorial), and rookie Zoe Traficante (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) to contain the Lynchburg offense through 61 minutes.

While Lynchburg produced 20 shots, the Hornets gave up nine, helped by a defensive effort led in part by Gabby Soares (Virginia Beach/Kempsville) and Emily Maxwell (Quantico, Md./Quantico).  The Hornets also recorded a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, Sept. 27, hosting Shenandoah University at 1 p.m. in ODAC play on Foster Field.

--AMDG--