Bridgewater, Va. – Bridgewater College students packed the stands to watch the women’s soccer team defeat the Roanoke Maroons 3-1 during their Bleed Crimson match on Wednesday afternoon.

“The atmosphere at our Bleed Crimson game was energetic and made the game even more exciting with so many supporters. My team is always proud when our peers come to cheer us on,” said senior Hanna Randolph.

Wednesday’s victory keeps alive the team’s 14 game undefeated streak, including a thrilling Top 25 victory over Lynchburg College on Oct. 23.

The Eagles started the match on the front foot, controlling possession and putting early pressure on the Maroon’s defense. In minute two of the match, an overlapping midfield run by Randolph found the ball on the left flank. Randolph carried the ball towards the touchline, sending a low, driven cross through the penalty area. A perfectly timed run to the back post from sophomore Alicia Keo gave BC their first goal of the game.

A robust Eagles defense, headed by redshirt senior Sydney Davis between the sticks, allowed the Maroons only one shot on target from three shots in the half. Offensively, the Eagles recorded 13 shots on target in the opening 45 minutes of play.

Second half play continued with the Eagles enjoying a majority of the possession. An attack sequence started off a corner kick from the right hand side in minute 53, rewarded BC with what ultimately proved to be the game-winner. 

A long shot off the corner kick was punched down by the Roanoke goalkeeper and poorly cleared back to BC possession. A long, looping cross in from the left side found senior Lauren Pion on the right side of the penalty box. Pion centered a low pass to a waiting Randolph who slotted the ball neatly to the right side of the goal.

Roanoke made an effort to reinstate themselves in the match just over ten minutes later when a throw-in was awarded to the Maroons in their attacking half. The subsequent long throw found its way into the BC penalty area, deflecting off of Roanoke first-year Sasha Clinnin and bouncing over the head of defenders, and again over Davis into the goal. 

The Eagles found themselves a security goal in impressive style during minute 70 of the game. A pass cut out by first-year Sofia Carrera and her individual effort down the right wing put BC back in their attack. The ball was pushed to sophomore Skylar Daum, who laid off a pass to Randolph. A deft touch took Randolph around her defender and she took a long shot far beyond the edge of the penalty area that found its way into the upper left corner of the net.

Wednesday’s win kept the Eagles in contention for first place in the ODAC standings, putting them just a point behind table leaders Virginia Wesleyan with one game left in the regular season. 

“Heading into the postseason, the team is focusing on doing everything we possibly can to stay healthy and prepare tactically one game at a time. Each game has to be earned from here on out and nothing is going to be given to us, so being ‘all in’ as we say, is more important than ever during this time of year,” said Randolph.

ODAC post-season play begins on Tuesday, Nov. 2 with the higher seeds hosting the first round games.