Box Score For Immediate Release – 11/2/16 - #111
'Cats Upset Bid Comes Up Short
LYNCHBURG, VA – The eighth-seeded Randolph College men's soccer team took on the top-seed and 17th ranked team in the country, Lynchburg College, on Wednesday night. The WildCats nearly came from behind to defeat their crosstown rivals, but dropped the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Quarterfinal game 2-1.
The 16th edition of the Hill City Derby was everything it was billed to be, with the physicality and impressive play starting right from the beginning. It was less than four minutes in, when Erick Cortez-Martinez made a great save. Fredy Flores was coming at him and Cortez-Martinez came off his line to stop the shot.
Soon after, the 'Cats had their first attempts of the game, but Blake Heatherly and Joe Uzdavinis missed the woodwork.
The battle through the middle of the field continued with neither team getting a solid chance over the next few minutes, with the next one coming in the 19th minute. Cortez-Martinez once again had an impressive stop to keep the score at 0-0. However, just over two minutes later, the Hornets would break through for their first of the night. Ben Grossfuss got on a long ball from Thomas Salamone and took the lead.
The rest of the half would see a battle in the middle, as only two shots were registered, sending the game to the intermission at 1-0 for the hosts.
Both teams earned early corners in the second half, but neither could capitalize due to defenses on both sides. However, in the 57th minute, LC doubled its advantage as Flores scored after picking up a loose ball in the box.
Despite the score line, Randolph would not go silently. Adam Watson forced the Lynchburg defense to clear a ball off the line, and the WildCats continued to push. The eighth-seed registered its next shot 19 minutes later, but it was a big one.
The 'Cats earned a corner kick on the right side, and Troy Jurney stepped up to take it. His service went beyond the back post to the head of Travis Brown. Unlike on Monday, Brown would not score but instead he got the ball to the middle of the box, where Frankie DiOrio was there. The first year scored his first-career goal to halve the deficit.
Randolph continued to press with the new enthusiasm. Cristian Irigoyen had a long throw in with six minutes remaining and found the head of Brown just as he did on Monday. But, this time the ball hit the crossbar. The rebound came to the foot of Anthony Fonnesu, but his shot was just high.
Then in the final seconds of the game, a foul was committed on the WildCats near the midline. Heatherly stepped up for the free kick, but his attempt was saved by the Hornets goalie as the clock wound down to zero.
The WildCats had more corner kicks (5-4) with all of them coming in the second half. The game ended with 25 fouls. Lynchburg (14-1-4 overall) had three more shots in the game.
Randolph (8-6-5) ends the season with Wednesday's result. The career of the seven WildCat seniors unfortunately also ends. Anthony Quinn and Austin Davidson proved to be key members of the backline. Kyle Unruh played wherever the coaches needed and excelled in those positions. Uzdavinis provided speed and was at his best in the final games of his career. Brian Anderson was unable to dress in the game due to an injury, but was essential to the midfield his entire career. The last two are Jurney and Heatherly, who leave as two of the most prolific and influential players in the history of the program. Jurney leaves third in points, goals (tied), and assists, while Heatherly is second in goals and points and tied for first in assists. The class will be greatly missed by the coaches and program.
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