LYNCHBURG, Va. --- It took until the
overtime period, but with 3:50 remaining junior Morgan
Singer found the back of the net to advance the No. 1 seed
Lynchburg College women's soccer team past No. 4-seeded Virginia
Wesleyan College, 1-0, in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference
(ODAC) tournament semifinals on Wednesday night.
Both teams battled to a scoreless draw at the end of regulation
when six minutes into the overtime session the Hornets had an
opportunity to finish the game. With the ball in a crowded box, it
became difficult to clear. Angela
Bosco corralled the ball and pushed it to the right side
of the box where Singer caught the Virginia Wesleyan goalie out of
position. Singer ripped a shot into the lower right corner to end
the game and advance Lynchburg to the ODAC title game for the
fifth-straight year.
Virginia Wesleyan had a pair of opportunities early in the second
half as Kristen Cherry had two shots on goal in the first three
minutes after intermission. Both rips were saved by Tess
Frelick to keep the match tied.
Lynchburg had its best opportunity with 12:20 remaining in the
second half as Kelley
Smith took a shot from 30 yards out that hit off the
crossbar. Singer raced to finish off the play, but an offside
infraction wiped away the opportunity.
Virginia Wesleyan rode the momentum of the stop, rushing down the
pitch and centering a perfect cross that reached the box just
before the forward was in position to finish the play. The Hornets
managed to clear the ball and get the match into the extra
session.
Lynchburg outshot the Marlins (12-7-2) 26-4 while leading 7-2 in
corner kicks. Frelick finished with two saves while Megan Gerhart
stopped five for Virginia Wesleyan.
The overtime win, the Hornets' second on the year and first since
Johns Hopkins University on September 6, advances Lynchburg to the
ODAC championship to be played on Saturday. Lynchburg will face the
No. 2-seeded Washington and Lee University at a time to be
announced.
--- This release is
courtesy of the Lynchburg College sports information department.
---
athletics.lynchburg.edu