Bridgewater, Va.- On Wednesday, Oct. 26, the women’s soccer team defeated the Hornets in a hard-fought one-sided battle.

With this victory, the Eagles increase their season record to 12-4 and go 8-1 in ODAC play. The Eagles continue to rule over their ODAC rivals.

In the third minute, senior Kasie Kilmer of the Hornets came out of goal to play a pass from one of her Shenandoah teammates, but she mishandled the ball, allowing graduate student Hanna Randolph to intercept it and score BC’s first the game’s opening goal in the early stages of the match.

A similar play occurred in minute ten when senior Madison Crooks got a shot off, but Kilmer made the save from deep outside the crease, giving junior Ashley Sabatino the chance to score on the rebound. BC took a 2-0 lead after just 10 minutes of playing time. 

Sabatino continued this energy when she sent a pass up field to fellow junior Katelyn Seagraves, who ran the length of the field and scored, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead in minute 25. Seagraves has scored in both of her last two games.

Senior Kaia Richardson scored in minute 56 when Sabatino hit her after a move into the penalty area to make it 5-1 for the Eagles. A corner kick by the Eagles’ junior Skyler Daum was received by freshman Lyric Birkley, who knocked it straight into the ground off a volley to slip it past sophomore Kira Ketelhut and make the score 6-1.

Senior Megan Byle served as the Eagles’ keeper for the entire 90 minutes and had to make three saves on the day to secure the team’s steady victory.

“We’ve never had a victory that big over Shenandoah, so to have that big of a victory on senior night was huge,” said Byle. “I am very proud of my girls, and I am even more proud that we have secured our number one seed in the playoffs.” 

On the offensive side, Sabatino had a standout game, finishing the day finding the twine twice in her only two shots on goals while also netting an assist. Next, Seagraves finished the day with one goal and one assist on her day.

“The Shenandoah game was a big team win for us, and our program has never beaten them to that extent before. We’re looking forward to seeing them in the quarterfinals,” said Sabatino. 

Since 2008, Bridgewater has had the best overall record in women’s soccer against Shenandoah, with nine victories, four losses, and four ties. After their valiant triumph, the Eagles also boast the longest winning streak with an astounding seven-game run from 2016 to the present.

In the victory, Daum had the most shots of any player with six, followed by Crooks with three. 

Before the game, Bridgewater recognized four seniors including Richardson, Crooks, Byle and Lexi Winkler, as well as two graduate students, Randolph and Emily York, for their accomplishments in the program.

The 7-1 victory is the biggest in the rivalry between the two institutions, which are only a little over an hour apart.

“Our win against Shenandoah was a huge team win. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, so putting that many goals in the back of the net were a big deal for us,” said first-year Kendall Garza. “Just putting us one step closer to reaching our ultimate goal of winning ODACS.” 

The Eagles will begin their postseason back at Bridgewater against the Hornets in the Quarterfinals of the 2022 ODAC Championship playoff bracket after their huge win against Randolph this Saturday by a score of 7-0. The time is to be determined.