For Immediate Release – 10/12/16 - #080
WildCats Drop First ODAC Contest against Eagles

BRIDGEWATER, VA – The Randolph College men's soccer team played Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rival Bridgewater College on Wednesday.  The WildCats played tough, but dropped its first ODAC game of the year, 2-0.

The WildCats almost opened up the scoring mere seconds into the game.  After sending the opening kickoff down the field, the BC keeper came well off his line, and Blake Heatherly fired one towards net.  However, a defender was there to stop the attempt.  The 'Cats had another opportunity soon after on a corner, but it was stopped.

Momentum flipped soon after with the Eagles earning the next couple of chances.  Anthony Quinn and Cristian Irigoyen both used the positioning to block shots.  While Heatherly had another good opportunity that was saved, Bridgewater retained the advantage.  After a foul near midfield, Connor Henderson took the free kick and scored on a difficult shot, giving BC a 1-0 lead.

The two teams then went back and forth, with several good chances on each side.  Kyle Unruh had attempts saved and blocked, while Erick Cortez-Martinez made some tough stops to keep the score the same entering the half.

The pace of the second half changed greatly from the first half, as chances were harder to find.  Heatherly and Unruh were the only WildCats to register shots in the first 19 minutes.  All of their shots were blocked.  It was at that point that the Eagles had several chances.  One shot was blocked by Irigoyen, while Cortez-Martinez made an impressive punch-out, to conserve the score.

However, the 'Cats came back aggressively looking for the equalizer.  Unruh forced Mark Davis into another save and Jamie Ford-Lane took his chance outside the box, but it just sailed high.  But with nine minutes remaining in the game, Noah Malpass took a quick pass from Renato Grgic and doubled the lead for the Eagles.

Randolph tried for the late comeback.  Heatherly had another attempt and Travis Brown almost turned a free kick from Unruh into a goal, but it would be to no avail.

Cortez-Martinez finished the game with three saves, while his counterpart Davis had three in the win for the Eagles (7-4-2 overall, 2-2 ODAC).

Randolph (6-3-3, 1-1-2) finishes its two-game road trip on Saturday.  The WildCats will travel to Emory & Henry College (8-4-1, 1-2-1) for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

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