EMORY, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College Women's Soccer Team (3-3-1, 1-0 ODAC) scored its two goals in the final 15 minutes of the match to get by Emory & Henry College (1-5, 0-1 ODAC) by a 2-0 score Saturday afternoon at Fred Selfe Stadium.
"We knew today would require heart and grit," commented third-year Head CoachLinda Schirmeister-Gess. "We asked the girls to step up and fight all over the field and they fully responded. While the result shows the strides we have made as a program in the right direction we still feel like we could have earned more out of the game."
The two-goal margin is the closest between the Wasps and the Marlins since a scoreless draw in the 1999 season. It is also the fewest goals that E&H has allowed against VWC since 1999.
The Wasps matched up well throughout the contest with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference powerhouse Marlins and it seemed for much of the second half that E&H would steal the win.
Freshman goalkeeper Kayla Wright (Franklin County, Va.) made four saves in the first half to keep Virginia Wesleyan off the board. Emory & Henry had several chances early and almost got on the board in the fourth minute on a strong shot by senior forward Erica Merriman (Cornelius, N.C.).
The two teams went into the half scoreless and through the first 30 minutes of the second half, extra time was in the minds of many in attendance.
Virginia Wesleyan got its first goal late in the 77th minute. Lauren Shular passed a ball in from the right side to Annie Hartman, who was standing at the edge of the six-yard box. Hartman hit a one-timer to finish and put the Marlins on the board.
VWC doubled the margin with 9:28 to go in the match. In a nearly identical situation, CeCe Valdez served a ball up for Hartman's clinical touch to the back of the goal.
Emory & Henry pressed forward for the final minutes of the game but was unable to get past the solid Virginia Wesleyan defense, which hung on for the 2-0 final margin.
Marlin goalkeeper Megan Gerhart made three saves and combined with Tiffany Lennon to pitch the shutout. E&H sophomore Vicki Fenley (Chesapeake, Va.) stopped five shots in the second half despite suffering the loss.
Emory & Henry will next take the field when it travels to Lynchburg College next Friday night for an 8:00 p.m. ODAC match with the Hornets.
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