HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va.- The Randolph men's soccer team faced another tough conference opponent on the road as they took on Hampden-Sydney on Wednesday night. The WIldCats trailed going into the second half but scored twice in the period to come away with a 3-2 victory.
The WildCats up their overall record to 9-0-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Tigers fall to 4-4-1 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
The Tigers came out aggressive in the opening moments of the first half as they got off a pair of shots on goal. HS-C went ahead in the 11th minute with a goal by Boyce Purdie to lead 1-0.
In the 20th minute, Randolph had possession in the offensive zone. After a corner kick, Noah Carney (Charleston, W.V./Homeschool) was able to put a shot away to tie the game at 1-1.
The host Tigers were able to regain the lead in the 37th minute as Jackson Burkhart scored to put the home team ahead 2-1 where the score stood at halftime.
Undeterred by their deficit, the WildCats came out strong in the second half. The equalizer came at 57:53 as Evan Blow (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) was able to assist Wade Hall (Spotsylvania, Va./Courtland) to make the score 2-2.
The WildCats took their first lead of the night in the 71st minute. Tucker Leverone (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River) set up for a corner kick that eventually found Blow who knocked it in the back of the net to give the 'Cats a 3-2 lead.
The Randolph defense was able to hold off the Tigers in the waning minutes of the game. Hampden-Sydney registered two shots on goal in the last four and a half minutes that were turned away by WildCat keeper Zach Aylor (Vinton, Va./William Byrd).
Total shots were close as Hampden-Sydney edged out Randolph 19-18 and 12-11 shots on goal. Corner kicks were in Randolph's favor 9-5.
Aylor had a season-high 10 saves in goal for the WildCats. His counterpart for Hampden-Sydney, Ian Fitzgerald, finished with eight saves.
Randolph travels to Eastern Mennonite on Saturday. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.
