The Virginia Wesleyan University men's soccer team (7-1-2, 2-0 ODAC) defeated conference foe Lynchburg 2-0.
Alex Moody scored the game-winning goal and
Giovanni Zizza scored the first goal of his collegiate career.
Ilan Mejia tallied an assist, and
Ben Haynes got the win in the net along with his fifth clean sheet of the season.
In a rematch of the 2023 ODAC Semifinal match between these two teams, there was no love lost between the two sides. The Hornets started strong, as they tallied three shots on target in the first eight minutes of the game. However, the Marlins were awarded a penalty kick at the 9:03 mark, which was converted by
Alex Moody to give VWU an important 1-0 lead. Lynchburg kept up the pressure and tallied 12 shots with eight on net, and had five corners, but the Marlins' defense held strong to keep the 1-0 lead through the first 45 minutes.
Virginia Wesleyan came out in the second half with some good tactical changes that led to a 7-6 advantage in shots. The biggest moment was in the 63rd minute as
Aaron Deans found a nice pass to
Ilan Mejia who was able to turn and find Gio Zizza just outside the 18-yard box, who hit a nice shot to the back post to double the Marlins' advantage. The Hornets fought hard to cut down the Marlins lead, but key saves from
Ben Haynes give the Marlins the 2-0 win.
