There were times during Saturday's women's lacrosse game between Virginia Wesleyan College and visiting Guilford College when it seemed as though the waves from the nearby Chesapeake Bay swept in just a little bit too far.

      A passing storm included winds that created waves with the standing water on a drenched Foster Field on the Virginia Wesleyan campus where the Marlins and Quakers braved the elements throughout the first half and into the second. But, the rain and wind eventually gave way to clear skies and a bright sun only minutes before the game ended, with Virginia Wesleyan posting a decisive 16-6 victory.

      The win improved Virginia Wesleyan's overall record to 9-2 and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference mark to 5-1, protecting the Marlins position as the No. 2 team in the league.

      While the team protected its position in the ODAC, senior All-American Megan Parris improved her position among Virginia Wesleyan's all-time leaders in several statistical areas. She scored a season-high 11 points, helped by a season-high five assists, and scooped up a career-high 11 ground balls. The ground balls tie the Marlins single-game record set by Erin Duckett against Ferrum College in 1999, and tied by Summer Foster and Meagan DiCave in following years, while the assists up her career total to 90, the second best total in program history.

      Parris was just once again part of a balanced scoring effort for the Marlins, who utilized their passing and receiving skills to spot open players for hard-to-defend shots throughout the game. Sophomore Jamie Jones and junior All-American Laura Wallace took passes from Parris to put the first two goals on the scoreboard.

      Guilford (4-4, 1-3) used a Katie Gilligan-to-Jordan Clodfelter combination to stop the Marlins' early run, but it was not for long. Wallace scored coming across the middle, off a pass from Parris, with 13:45 remaining in the half, and Parris followed with goal off a pass from Wallace only 35 seconds later after winning the draw.

      Virginia Wesleyan enjoyed runs of three, four and five goals in the first half, with sophomore Chrissy Clancy and rookie Jillian Boyd scoring goals, as the Marlins opened up a 12-2 advantage at halftime.

      A Parris-to-Wallace combination opened the second half to give Virginia Wesleyan its largest lead at 13-2, before Guilford sparked its only run of the game. Caryn Washington, Kelly Gonzalez and Billie Pellerito scored consecutive goals to cut the spread to 13-5 with 12:19 remaining to be played.

      It was as close as the Quakers would get however, as Boyd, Clancy and Wallace followed with a three-goal run for Virginia Wesleyan to push the Marlins in front 16-5 with 2:01 to play.

      Wallace finished with four goals for the Marlins, while Boyd, Clancy and Jones all scored two each. Pellerito led Guilford with two goals.

      The Marlins outshot the Quakers 36-20, helped by a 25-8 advantage in the first half. Sophomore goalie Jacqui Downey a little more than 42 minutes and recorded six saves. Rookie Megan Koster closed out in front of the goal for Virginia Wesleyan and recorded four saves. Guilford goalie Devorah Litt finished with nine saves.

Courtesy of Virginia Wesleyan Sports Information