Box Score SWEET BRIAR, VA – Sophomore midfielder Marielle Rando (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan) notched her second career hat trick Saturday afternoon as the Randolph College women's soccer team snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Sweet Briar College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action.
The WildCats are 10-1-1 against their Route 29 rivals in their last 12 meetings after the win today. For Rando, her three goals were her first three of the season and marked the first hat trick for Randolph since Rando accomplished the feat last season against Trinity (DC) College.
Randolph (4-7/1-6 ODAC) started fast, taking the first four shots of the game over the first 12 minutes. At the 12 minute mark, Rando netted an unassisted goal to the top right corner of the goal from the left side to put the WildCats up 1-0.
Sweet Briar (1-9/0-7 ODAC) came right back 1:09 later, as Alison Lifka answered with an equalizer unassisted on a free kick. Rando booked her second of the day after continued pressure by the WildCats, scoring without an assist off a carom of a corner kick clearing attempt. In the 37th minute, sophomore Elisa Otero (Chevy Chase, MD/St. John's) notched her first collegiate goal on a rebound in the box.
First-year Brittany Hammons (Newport News, VA/Grafton) got in on the action at 42:34 of the game, as she picked off a pass and finished a breakaway for her team-leading fifth goal on the season. After the intermission break, Rando finished her hat track and the game's scoring with another unassisted goal, this time slotting the shot into the right corner.
The WildCat defense would hold Sweet Briar to only three second half shots, but Hunter Gibson (Newport News, VA/Denbigh) stopped both shots on net to earn her fourth win of the season. Randolph outshot the Vixens 21-4 over the 90 minutes, taking three corner kicks to SBC's one. Seanne Weekes played the duration for the Vixens, making eight saves.
For Rando, she now has four goals in two games against the Vixens and also nine points after assisted on the overtime winner last year in a 2-1 win in WildCat Stadium. Randolph will now look to an important ODAC contest with Emory & Henry College at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon as the opener of a doubleheader with the Randolph men's soccer team.
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