Marlins stun No. 1 Bishops in battle of the Wesleyans

VIRGINIA BEACH -- It may have been a little bit of disappointment, mixed in with a little bit of embarrassment, that combined to spark one of the most redeeming efforts in Virginia Wesleyan College men's soccer history on Saturday.

Playing in front of an overflow crowd on Foster Field at the Trinder Center, the Marlins wiped out the memories of Friday's 5-1 loss to York College with a stunning 3-0 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University, the nation's No. 1 team and the defending NCAA DIII champions.

It was an effort that spread all over the field and extended from horn to horn as the Marlins produced a consistent attack on both ends of the field to keep the Battling Bishops (0-1-1) off balance.  VWC (1-1) ignited the large crowd with a pair of first half goals and tacked on one more in the second half.

While the entire team erupted in celebration after the first goal in the 39th minute, no one was more excited than the scorer, rookie Austin VonVille, who grew up and played soccer not far from the Ohio Wesleyan campus on the northwest side of Columbus, Ohio. And celebrating with him was sophomore Blake Eshelman, a VWC starter and another native of the Columbus area.

"The Ohio kids were excited," said VWC Director of Men's and Women's soccer Jeff Bowers.  "We were all excited and it was a good win for us.  It takes everyone collectively to play to that level, not just one person, but everyone.  Tonight we played as team.  I'm very happy for them."

Virginia Wesleyan displayed some speed and quickness that gave the Marlins the upperhand in many situations, particularly on the defensive side stepping in to repeatedly take the ball away from the Bishops.  But, when OWU did find the openings for shots, rookie goalieJake Burtch (Virginia Beach/Floyd E. Kellam) was there to keep the ball out of the net. He faced 10 OWU shots and produced four saves.

"Jake played very well," said Bowers, "but we have three very strong goalkeepers.  We also have a pair of outstanding center backs inStephen Sawicki (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda Chevy-Chase) and Reid Petersen (Virginia Beach/Salem) who were great in front of the goal.  Our defenders all played well and helped us get the shutout, which was so important after giving up five goals the night before."

Offensive, sophomore Chris Cooke (Hampton, Va./Phoebus) and rookie Travis Walke (Virginia Beach/Landstown) helped set the tone early, and sophomore Isaac Arington (DeSoto, Texas/Midlothian) contributed impressively coming in off the bench.  In fact, Arrington assisted on two goals and scored the Marlins' lone second half goal.

"This was a great win for us, but we still have a long way to go," said Bowers. "We have a lot of young talent and we're trying to develop a winning culture, a winning mentality.  It takes time to get that done."

The Marlins will take the next step in that process on Saturday, Sept. 7, when they face Marymount University in the first game of the men's Orthopaedic Associates of Virginia Classic at 7:30 p.m.

--AMDG--