Soccer Travels to W&L for the ODAC Tournament Semi-Finals on Wednesday at 3:30
November 01, 2010
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA - After the soccer Tigers upset the second-seeded Maroons of Roanoke College in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament, H-SC gets to travel to Lexington, VA, on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. semi-final contest against the Generals of Washington & Lee University. Sixth-seed W&L also upset #3 seed Virginia Wesleyan 1-0 on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio will be provided here.
The Tigers and Generals squared off on October 9 with H-SC getting the upper hand in a 1-0 victory in overtime. That game sparked a momentum shift in the Tigers season as H-SC has gone 4-1-2 in its last seven games. The Tigers defense has been the key factor of late as H-SC has allowed just four goals in its last seven games for a goals against average of 0.54. Meanwhile, the offense has been producing at a rate of 2.43 goals per game.
Hampden-Sydney was outshot 18-9 in the contest, but John Robert Plyler (Charlotte, NC/Myers Park) tied his career high in saves with nine. The game-winning goal came in the 93rd minute when Bryan Wharton (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run) received a pass in the box and looked like he was going to shoot but passed it to right by far right post where Chris Whiteside (Virginia Beach, VA/Frank W. Cox) received the ball. Whiteside was able to get just enough on the ball to tap it to send it trickling in as he was falling into the goal with it. The ball barely reached pass W&L goalkeeper William Dorrance as the team rushed the field in celebration.
Plyler has been nearly impenetrable as he has made 36 saves and surrendered just four goals with three shutouts. The backline of Sam Turner (Richmond, VA/Benedictine), Curran Blackwell (Wilson, NC/Greenfield), Jackson Parker (Raleigh, NC/Sanderson), andGregorio Pacheco (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) has been stout in preventing opponents from getting off quality shot attempts and has been a monumental factor in the surge the Tigers have made late in the season.
Leading the charge for the offense of late has been a familiar face in junior captain Bryan Wharton (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run), an up and coming scoring star in sophomore Chris Whiteside (Virginia Beach, VA/Frank W. Cox). In this seven-game run, Wharton has averaged two points a contest with 14 points, five goals, and four assists. Whiteside has posted four goals and one assist along with three game-winners. Freshman Bo Burns (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road) is tied for second on the team in assists since the W&L game with four as he has six points along with one goal.
Since that fateful October day when these two teams met, the Generals have also gotten hot as they are 5-1 in their last six contests with the lone loss coming against #1 seed Lynchburg College. They have outscored their opponents 10-3 in the stretch. Goalkeeper William Dorrance has been strong in net since the H-SC loss, playing every second while making 23 saves for three shutouts. James Pymm has been the offensive star since October 9 with seven points on three goals and one assist while Jamie Paldino and Huntley Johnson have each tacked on a goal and an assist.
Two of the hottest defenses in the ODAC in the last three weeks, don't be surprised if the game heads to overtime like the last meeting. With each team likely earning very few quality scoring opportunities due to tremendous defenses, a hot goalkeeper or a quality pass or strike on a set piece could be the difference in rather the Tigers go home or go to Lynchburg, VA, for the ODAC Championship game to be hosted by either Lynchburg or Randolph College. Lynchburg will host Randolph on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the other semi-final matchup.
