Second half goals send Marlins past Lynchburg
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Wesleyan College's men's soccer team took another step forward on a path the Marlins hope has no end in sight anytime soon.
The Marlins played one of their most inspired games of the season Tuesday in front of the largest crowd of the season at the Trinder Center, where Virginia Wesleyan emerged as a 2-1 winner over the Lynchburg College Hornets in a "must win" situation in the final regular game of the season.
"These guys had a goal to have a 2-0 week and they worked hard to get it," said VWC head coach Mike McFarland. "They knew that if they didn't get it done, the season would have been over. But, they came out, played well, and accomplished what they set out to do. There are a lot of 5-10-1 teams that would have packed it in at this point of the season, but these guys come out every day and practice hard. They deserve this and I'm happy for them."
The victory was the second in a row for the Marlins (6-10-1), and the third in the last four games, but more importantly it was a win that secured a berth for VWC in the upcoming conference championship tournament. That begins Saturday, Oct. 29, against an opponent yet to be named. VWC and Hampden-Sydney both finished with 4-6 ODAC records, but the Marlins' 1-0 win over the Tigers earlier in the season gives the Marlins the tournament berth.
Sophomores Pops Richards (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) and Brian Cornell (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) scored the second half goals for Virginia Wesleyan, giving the Marlins a 2-0 lead in the 68th minute.
But, it was a huge defensive play earlier that turned out to be crucial for the Marlins. That took place in the 61st minute when Lynchburg's 6-foot-4 Josh Hinkle (Palmyra, Va./Fluvanna County) leaped to put a head on the ball, driving it over the defense toward the left side of the goal. But, as the ball arced toward the goal, 5-foot-8 Virginia Wesleyan rookieBrandon St. Amour (Stafford, Va./Mountain View) jumped up to head it back into possession of the Marlins.
It was a defensive stop that gave the Marlins additional momentum advancing the ball downfield. Lynchburg's defenders got in the way of a couple of Marlin shots, but could not stop Richards, who headed the ball back into the net on a rebound shot from the right in the 63rd minute.
The Marlins continued to control tempo after that and kept the ball close to the Lynchburg net before Cornell found the goal in the 68th minute. He fired it into the left side off a pass from Chris Luce (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar F. Smith).
Lynchburg (5-8-4, 3-3-4) averted the shutout in the 77th minute when Thomas Moran (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) scored from five yards out on the left.
VWC's defense took over after that to wrap up the big win.
Virginia Wesleyan out-shot Lynchburg 14-5 in the second half and finished with a 20-10 advantage for the game. The Marlins also held the advantage in corner kicks, 9-2.
Senior goalie Ryan Zmuda (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) protected the VWC goal and recorded three saves. Michael Releford (Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg) had three saves in goal for the Hornets.
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