LYNCHBURG, Va. --- The Hill City Rivalry was renewed Wednesday night when the #1 Hornets hosted the #8 Wildcats of Randolph on Shellenberger Field for one of the Quarterfinal matchups in the ODAC Tournament. The Hornets came out victorious 2-1 as they held off a late press from the Wildcats to advance to the ODAC Semifinal round.

A loud and raucous crowd was nonstop from ODAC quarterfinal's opening minute and gave both teams an extra gear as early chances came and went, before Lynchburg struck first. After locking eyes with his teammate, junior Thomas Salamone sent a long ball that beat the Randolph center back and found senior forward Ben Grossfuss. The senior forward got a touch to the service and the ball slowly dribbled past the WildCat keeper to give the Hornets a pivotal 1-0 lead and take the momentum from Randolph as the teams head into halftime.

The aggressive play in the second half caused an uproar amongst both teams supporters but resulted in a nail biting finish. The Hornets scored their second goal thanks to Grossfuss, who did what he does best, keeping the ball in play. Junior Fredy Flores benefited from Grossfuss' effort as he sent a low rocket into the back of the net in the 57^thminute giving the Hornets a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Randolph's fans never let up and the loud support helped their team as the WildCats swung the momentum in their favor in the 76^th minute. Following a corner, a WildCat player headed the service back across goal, where Frankie DiOrio put it just inside the right post to draw Randolph to within one.

The Hornets would have to endure a barrage of balls into the box in the following 14 minutes as the WildCats searched for the equalizer but the Lynchburg defense, ranked in the Top 10 nationally, stood strong and helped Lynchburg secure a berth in the ODAC Tournament Semi-Finals.

Sophomore Dylan McLaurin did not record a save on the night but was a key contributor to the Hornets victory as he asserted his strength, securing crosses in and punching out corners. The second-year goalkeeper moves to 14-1-4 on the year with the victory.

Flores led the Hornets with five shots while junior Ryan Mayolo and sophomore Zach Thomas unleashed two shot each.

Lynchburg will host the Semi-Finals and Championship for the ODAC Tournament, which starts this Saturday, Nov. 4^th. The Hornets will play Randolph-Macon (10-4-3, 5-3-1 ODAC) this Saturday at noon in the first Semi-Final game. The Hornets defeated the Yellow Jackets 2-1 in Ashburn, Va. back on Oct. 8.