Virginia Wesleyan to Face Lynchburg for ODAC Title

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. --- Virginia Wesleyan College's women's soccer team sandwiched goals early and late around a solid defensive effort Wednesday to post a 2-0 victory over Roanoke College in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament semifinal contest.

Playing on Foster Field at the Trinder Center, the Marlins (18-2) avenged a 1-0 road loss to the Maroons (14-5-1) earlier in the season and snapped a five-game Roanoke winning streak.  The victory also moved Virginia Wesleyan into the ODAC championship game for the fourth straight year and the eighth time overall.  The Marlins, seeded No. 2, will play at Lynchburg College, seeded No. 1, on Saturday, Nov. 5, at a time to be determined.

Virginia Wesleyan, which tied a program record with its 11th home field win of the season, took the first step toward that victory in the fifth minute.  Junior Bre Ingargiola (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) took the ball in from about 30 yards out and nailed a shot on the run into the right corner to give the Marlins the lead.

From that point on defense controlled tempo for both teams, as Jamie Johnston (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) and Carmen Graves (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) stepped up for the Maroons to spoil several Virginia Wesleyan scoring attempts.  On the flip side, Krista Witmer (Lancaster, Pa./Millersville) and Hanna Winkel (Lebanon, Mo./Lebanon) sparked a balanced VWC defensive effort that made it difficult for Roanoke to produce any consistency offensively.

The Maroons' most dangerous scoring attempt came in the second half with 8:03 remaining when a cross inside got past the VWC goalie.  But, Roanoke was unable to capitalize as Marlin sophomore Angel Horowitz (Bushkill, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) intercepted the ball and booted it downfield before the Maroons could record  shot at the goal.

Four minutes later the Marlins took a 2-0 lead when junior Jessica Edelman(Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) scored on the run with a shot about 15 yards out into the right side.  Edelman's goal was her 12th of the season, while Ingargiola's was her 11th, making the duo the highest scoring 1-2 punch for VWC since Sharon Hay and Missy Kuhns in 2005.

Virginia Wesleyan posted a 13-7 advantage in shots and a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.  Sophomore Erica Keil (Wayne, N.J./DePaul Catholic) recorded five saves for the Marlins, four in the second half.  Carolyn Sarabacher (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) posted three saves for Roanoke.

This release is courtesy of the Virginia Wesleyan College sports information department.