Late Rally not Enough as Marlins Fall 3-2

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College women's soccer team drew a large crowd for its breast cancer awareness night, but could not provide enough late magic for the fans in a 3-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) loss to Washington and Lee University Saturday night.

The Marlins wore special pink jerseys for the contest and had a fundraiser throughout the match, selling t-shirts and raffling off prizes.

Washington and Lee had been successful all ODAC season due to its defense, but it was the first half offense that was on display Saturday night with a pair of scores just three minutes apart.

Tricia Jessee scored the initial goal of the contest at the 25:13 mark after controlling a saved shot off that went off Megan Gerhart. Jessee corralled the carom, turned her back to the defender, and spun around to get space for her scoring shot.

Caroline Peters scored less than three minutes later, at 28:01, when Katie Pettit sent a ball deep up the right side of the pitch. Peters snared the pass, raced towards the goal and ripped a shot on Gerhart to extend the lead.

The Marlins came out strong in the second half as the first shot of the final 45 minutes of play resulted in a VWC goal. Brook Adamchak took the free kick on just the second foul of the game, sending it into the box where it bounced around and was finished off by Julia Downing for her sixth goal of the season.

The Washington and Lee defense held the Marlins in check following the goal, stealing momentum again when Megan Engeland had the ball at the top of the box and sent a soft one-touch to the left side where Caroline Hahn was streaking into the box for a kick that went to the left of Gerhart and into the back of the net for the 3-1 edge.

The Marlins scored once more in the second half as Abigail Nickle sent a set piece into the box that cleared the hands of a leaping Maggie Nolan where it was finished off by Kerry Knauss, but VWC would get no closer.

Gerhart made nine saves for the Marlins while Nolan finished with just one stop for Washington and Lee (10-3/6-2 ODAC). The Generals outshot VWC 21-10 with a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Virginia Wesleyan (8-7/6-1) hosts Randolph College (5-8-1/3-4) Tuesday at 6 p.m. in more ODAC action.