Box Score LYNCHBURG, VA – The WildCat women's soccer team comes into a busy week with the task of snapping a six-game losing streak, having dropped Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) games to Guilford College (3-0) and Bridgewater College (5-0) last week. This week, Randolph will head to Virginia Wesleyan College for a league contest Tuesday at 4 p.m. before taking on Sweet Briar College Saturday at 2 p.m.
Match Details
Opponent: Virginia Wesleyan College
Site: Virginia Beach, VA
Facility: Trinder Center
Date: October 4, 2011
Time: 4 p.m.
Match Details
Opponent: Sweet Briar College
Site: Sweet Briar, VA
Facility: Babcock Field
Date: October 8, 2011
Time: 2 p.m.
Live Stats
What to Look For
The Randolph offense has been missing of late, and things will not get easier as the WildCats ready themselves to take on nationally-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College Tuesday afternoon. The Marlins have allowed only four goals in 11 games this season. Relieve could come on Saturday with a trip to nearby rival Sweet Briar, as the Vixen defense has allowed 54 goals to date. First-year Brittany Hammons (Newport News, VA/Grafton) and Ashley Oswald (Mechanicsville, VA/Lee-Davis) will try to link up with sophomore Marielle Rando (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan).
A Look at the Marlins
Virginia Wesleyan is coming of its first loss of the season, as the No. 10 ranked Marlins dropped an ODAC contest to Roanoke College 1-0 in overtime over the weekend. Jessica Edelman has been the offensive catalyst for the Marlins, as the junior has eight goals and seven assists on the season. Fellow junior Christina Fernandes has five goals to go with three helpers. Caitlyn Bishop, Brittni Dennis and Bre Ingargiola each have four goals as well for VWC. Erica Keil has played most of the time in net, making 26 saves while earning a 6-1 record.
A Look at the Vixens
Sweet Briar enters the week on a seven-game losing streak, and the Vixens are having the same issues Randolph seems to be having right now: offense. The Vixens have only netted five goals all year, and four of those scores came in a 4-1 win over Peace. Senior Sierra Palmieri has three of the five SBC goals on the year, while Rebecca Buechler and Emily Spivey have the other two. Lindsay Wilson has played all but one game in net, while Seanne Weekes took the loss in the Saturday's loss to Washington & Lee.
De-Cline
Randolph lost a huge part of its backline with the injury to outside back Kelsey Cline (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run) last week in a loss to Guilford. Cline had played the most minutes of any defender and her loss will be a big subtraction. Look for Courtney Collier (Gloucester, VA/Gloucester) to fill her void.
O-Yea
Sophomore center back Elisa Otero (Chevy Chase, MD/St. John's) has been a steady contributor to the defense this season. Otero is a calm, settling influence on the back line, and her speed and touch on the ball are among the best on the team.
OzzFest
First-year Ashley Oswald has been a great addition this season, scoring two goals while holding down the central midfield well. Look for Oswald to get back in the goal department soon with important games down the stretch.
No O
The Randolph College current stretch of five games without a goal is its longest since the 2009 season when the WildCats finished the year with five straight contests without a score. The long before that was a six-game stretch during the 2008 season.
Return of the Roth
Junior Brianne Roth (Yorktown, VA/Grafton) returned this season after a year at George Mason University and has been welcomed back. Roth's athleticism and strong left leg are attributes that have served her well at the left back spot.
Hunting Saves
First-year keeper Hunter Gibson (Newport News, VA/Denbigh) is second in the league right now with 89 saves, while playing all 810 minutes in net this season for Randolph. Hunter has done a good job this year of coming out and cutting out through balls and crosses.
Up Next
The WildCats return home next week for a pair of games in WildCat Stadium. Emory & Henry College comes to town Wednesday, October 12 for a 4:30 p.m. contest. Randolph then gets to host city mate Lynchburg College Sunday, October 16 at 1 p.m.
###