Box Score For Immediate Release – 11/2/16 - #110
WildCats Run Ends at W&L
LEXINGTON, VA – Playing in its third game in five days, the ninth-seeded Randolph College women's soccer team saw its 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament run end on Wednesday. The WildCats fell to top-seeded Washington and Lee University 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. It also ended the 'Cats winning streak, as the team won its previous two contests.
The Generals controlled the game throughout, but the 'Cats fought the entire 90, holding the high-scoring team off the scoreboard for long stretches. For the second time this year, Stephanie Quirk earned the start in goal and combined well with her backline in front of her.
Quirk was first called upon just over 30 seconds into the game, making the save look easy. W&L then had two corners, but Quirk controlled her box and the backline of Erin McClelland, Taylor Gamble, Natalia Tomlin, and Alissa Gembach helped snuff the hosts opportunities out. Washington and Lee continued to press, but all of the shots went wide, until one was blocked before Quirk stopped another one.
However, in the 17th minute, Megan Engeland broke the deadlock, giving the Generals the 1-0 lead. Quirk continued to do a fine job in net. She rushed out of her net soon after and had a sprawling kick save on Tricia Jesse. Engeland's next shot was initially stopped by Quirk but the force took it past the line and into the back of the net, giving the top seed a 2-0 lead.
W&L added two more tallies to its advantage before the half, but the defense continued to get the ball out of trouble. Hunter Robinson, Hannah Overstreet, and Patricia Garrett added support from the midfield, while Quirk made two more saves in the stanza.
The defensive play picked up even more in the second, as the WildCats fought off several early corner kicks. Maggie Croft had several key clearances to go along with her classmates in the defensive third. Quirk made easy work of the only two shots she saw in the first 30 minutes.
However, the remainder of the period would see Washington and Lee searching for one more. Quirk saved two more shots before seeing another one. It deflected into the back of the net, putting the score at the final line of 5-0. It was almost added to in the final minutes, but Quirk made an impressive leaping save on a shot from 30 yards out.
Quirk made 12 saves in the game, her second straight against the Generals with double-digit saves. Jesse, Ashley Hogan, and Caroline Hahn added the other goals for Washington and Lee (13-3-1 overall).
Randolph (6-11-1) concludes its season for the second year in a row in the ODAC Quarterfinals. The final whistle also marked the end of eight great WildCat careers. McClelland and Gamble have helped anchor the backline their entire careers. Gembach and Croft have played all over the field, and finish their careers as number one and tied for second in games played, respectively. Devon Nowicki, Sarah Sivick, and Leah Hughes have been instrumental in the middle of the field. Finally, Megan Kruse has been a key part of the attack in her four years. The coaching staff and community thanks them all for their efforts.
###
