Hornets Win ODAC Men's Soccer Title
Three Second Half Goals Complete Comeback
LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Lynchburg College scored
three times in the second half as the Hornets overcame a 1-0 first
half deficit to defeat Roanoke College, 3-1, for their 12th ODAC
men's soccer title on Saturday afternoon in Lynchburg. With
its victory, Lynchburg earns the ODAC's automatic qualifier into
the NCAA Division III Tournamnet.
The game was a tightly contested match pitting two teams with a
combined 19 ODAC championships. Lynchburg opened up strong and had
several scoring opportunities, but Roanoke goal keeper Ryan Russell
made several nice saves to keep the Hornets at bay. Roanoke would
eventually draw the opening goal in the 24th minute as
Chris Collins made a run off a long pass down the middle and lofted
the ball over the keeper into the left post.
Each team stayed true to their game by playing exceptional defense
to thwart a few good scoring opportunities to send the game into
the half with the Maroons up 1-0.
The Hornets came out strong yet again to open the half, and it
paid off for Lynchburg just 1:27 into the second stanza. A Roanoke
foul allowed Josh Reed to take a free kick from about 20 yards out.
Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Pat Brown, redirected it
to defender Zach Ward who tallied his first career goal as he
put the ball into the left side of the net.
Later in the half, Lynchburg nearly notched its second goal of the
contest. A Cam Smith free kick led to a Ward header that
was inches away from crossing the goal line, but a defender cleared
it off the line to keep it a 1-1 contest at the 73:59
mark.
Lynchburg would not be denied their second goal as just 29 seconds
later, Ryan Renfro notched a header goal on a Reed corner kick
to put the Hornets up 2-1. LC continued its second-half
burst as freshman Scott Colman proved his mettle for
clutch scoring. He tallied his second career goal by
converting on a Tony Dulak free kick to give the Hornets a 3-1
lead.
Lynchburg (16-2-2) outshot Roanoke (12-6-4) 19-8, including 10-4 in the decisive second-half, and also notched five corners to just two for the Maroons. Russell had a solid game in net, recording six saves while Matt Sturdivant posted three saves for Lynchburg.
The Hornets await their opponent and location in the NCAA
Division III Tournament. Play is set to begin on Thursday,
November 12.
2009 ODAC Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Bryan Hughes, Hampden-Sydney
John Robert Plyler, Hampden-Sydney
Pat Brown, Lynchburg (MOP)
Stephen Legg, Lynchburg
Matthew Rowe, Lynchburg
Hunter Smith, Lynchburg
Chris Collins, Roanoke
Taylor Johnston, Roanoke
Ryan Russell, Roanoke
The Lynchburg College sports information department
contributed to this release.
