VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Guilford College men's soccer team traveled to Foster Field at Tassos Paphites Soccer Complex on Wednesday night, facing Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) foe Virginia Wesleyan University, falling short in a one-sided contest by a tally of 5-0 against the Marlins.
The Quakers were unable to capitalize on the offensive end in today's match up, dropping to 3-6-0, on the season and 0-3 in ODAC play. The Marlins improved to 8-1-2 and 3-0 in conference play, first in the ODAC.
Chris Kelley (Lexington, N.C.) got the start in goal for Guilford, securing six saves amongst the 11 he faced. Falling to 2-5-0 in net.
Ildis Vital-Peraza (Vienna, Va.) finished out the game for the Quakers in the final ten minutes of action. Ben Haynes made the start in net for the hosts, improving to 7-0-2 for VWU, making three saves among the nine shot attempts he faced. Matt Yates concluded the game for the Marlins securing three saves among 13 shot attempts.
GC had 13 total shots, with seven on target.
Chris Hercules (Greensboro, N.C.) led the pack with three shots, two of those being on frame.
Riley Copeland (West End, N.C.) followed, with two attempts, one on goal.
The match started off with a flurry of activity, as both sides looked to gain an early advantage. Guilford dominated the first few minutes with superior possession of the ball and great connections amongst the players.
Angel Aragon (Winston-Salem, N.C.) initiated the first attack for Guilford, firing off two shots on target within the first ten. However, Virginia Wesleyan stood tall and rejected both attempts. The Marlins capitalized on their defensive efforts in the 14th minute, with a counter attack and quick build up that saw a cross from Everett McCloskey and a finish from Nolan Schulte.
The Quakers struggled to maintain possession after conceding the first goal. VWU continued to apply an immense amount of pressure, and found another goal in the 20th minute, after a series of passes that ended with a Zach Bittler goal.
The Quakers fought back, creating a few scoring opportunities of their own. Hercules nearly pulled one back in the 28th minute with a low-driven shot from distance off of a free kick that was blocked by the opposing defender.
VWU continued their dominant performance across the board, taking advantage of another counter-attacking opportunity, Nate Mitchelle connected a pin-point pass to Alex Moody, who found the back of the net and secured the Marlins third goal of the match.
In the 41st minute, GC continued to seek their first scoring opportunity with Hercules standing strong in the midfield, intercepting a VWU pass attempt. Hercules calmly approached the 18' and ripped a shot, near the left side of the goal, but Haynes came in with a rejection.
Ken Vaquez (Pittsboro, N.C.) had the chance to capitalize on the rebound, but missed the frame.
The second half saw both sides exchange possessions as they sought goal scoring opportunities. Shots were taken by both sides, but VWU got the better end of the stick, as they secured another pair of goals in the 76" and the 89" minute to conclude the game, at 5-Nil.
Guilford looks to bounce back as they travel to Bridgewater,Va to face conference opponent Bridgewater College on October 5. Kickoff is set for 3:00 P.M.
#GoQuakes
