EMORY, Va. – The Sweet Briar College Women's Soccer Team (6-4, 3-4 ODAC) scored twice in each half en route to a 4-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference win over Emory & Henry College (3-9, 2-5 ODAC) Wednesday night at Fred Selfe Stadium.
The Vixens got on the board early in the contest as Kaila Beale received a pass from Leyte McNealus and put it in the back of the net just 3:55 after kickoff.
Emory & Henry answered to tie the contest at a goal apiece in the 17th minute. Junior midfielder Emily Belanger (Tampa, Fla.) found the feet of freshman midfielder Clarissa Martin (Raleigh, N.C.), giving Martin the opportunity to rip a strike on goal to even the score.
Sweet Briar added a score with 11:37 to go in the half, making the margin 2-1 at the intermission. After Des'rae Davis' shot was saved and deflected, Kayla Kishbaugh put an attempt over the goalkeeper into the back upper 90 of the frame.
SBC started the second half as quickly as it did the first. Just 1:40 after play resumed, the Vixens earned a corner kick. After the ball went off several players, it fell in front of Kelsey Barta, who cleaned up the mess for the 3-1 advantage.
Early in the 56th minute, Sweet Briar made it a three-goal advantage. Davis put her name on the score sheet scoring off of a saved ball shot by Kishbaugh.
The Wasps would not go down without fighting as they put pressure on the Vixens' defense. With 7:08 to go in the contest, E&H earned a free kick on the edge of the box. Freshman midfielder Brittany Shampine (Salem, Va.) stood over the ball and struck it perfectly over the SBC defenders just to have it dip into the goal for the 4-2 final margin.
Emory & Henry would have several other chances in the closing minutes of the match, but was unable to convert.
The Wasps held a 16-7 shot advantage on the night but the Vixens put all seven of their attempts on frame. E&H took five corner kicks to Sweet Briar's four, but had four different attacks stopped due to being offside.
Sweet Briar's Katie Tillson made four saves and combined with Kat Day to earn the win. E&H sophomore Vicki Fenley (Chesapeake, Va.) and freshman Kayla Wright (Franklin County, Va.) allowed one goal each while Wright stopped two shots.
Emory & Henry will take to the road on Saturday when it travels to Randolph-Macon College for an 11:00 a.m., ODAC matchup with the Yellow Jackets. The contest with be part of a doubleheader with the E&H and R-MC men's teams.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15