Box Score For Immediate Release – 10/5/16 - #071
WildCats Battle Hornets but Fall
LYNCHBURG, VA – The Randolph College women's soccer team played Shenandoah University in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game on Wednesday night, falling 5-1. Randolph is only the third team this year to score against Shenandoah.
The 'Cats defense came out very strong, as Taylor Gamble, Missy Hussey, Madeline Davis, and Natalia Tomlin did a great job of stopping runs and marking the opposition. Quinn-Lynn Bates proved to be outstanding in the back as well, stopping several early shots and commanding her box in key situations. The WildCat attack also came to play, pushing forward into dangerous situations, but could only force one early shot.
However, the Hornets kept pushing and Jennifer Nguyen tallied the first of the night at 21:37. Bates stopped her initial attempt, but Nguyen scored on the rebound. Both teams continued to press and get the defenses on their heels, but SU was the only team to get shots on goal, with Bates making several more impressive saves. Then in the 38th minute, Emily Yergin sent an impossible shot on the ground into the far corner to make the score 2-0.
Randolph responded very quickly to cut the deficit. After the attacking players forced a turnover, Megan Kruse flicked a ball into the box where Sam Hablas made a well-timed run. She fired it into the top, far corner, sending the game into the half with a 2-1 line.
The 'Cats started the second stanza aggressively. The team held the ball in the attacking half for most of the early minutes, with Alissa Gembach getting a shot saved. But Shenandoah answered in the 55th minute. Yergin picked up the ball in the middle of the box and scored through traffic. A few minutes later she sent a cross into the penalty area and Nguyen put the score at 4-1.
Yergin tallied one more late, but it was not easy. The defense continued to impress, with Bates making several more terrific saves. In the 71st minute, an unmarked Hornet had a shot from 10 yards out. Bates dove to her left and just barely cut it off.
Bates continued to display the great goaltending that the WildCats have shown all year. She made 13 stops on the night. Sara Fuller had the final assist for the Hornets (10-2 overall, 4-0 ODAC).
Randolph (0-7-1, 0-3) will remain at home for an important event this Saturday. Not only will Hollins University (2-11, 0-4) be the Homecoming opponent, but the eight seniors – Sarah Sivick, Devon Nowicki, Leah Hughes, Erin McClelland, Maggie Croft, Gembach, Kruse, and Gamble – will be honored before the game. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
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