Written by Ruben Krishna, Staff Reporter
Roanoke College women’s soccer has had a very strong start to the season, especially in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play. They have posted an impressive record of six wins, five losses and four draws, enduring a challenging schedule. In recent weeks, they boasted one of their most impressive wins of the season: an 11-0 home thrashing of conference rival Hollins University.
On a crisp Wednesday night on Oct. 7 in Lynchburg, Roanoke was able to draw a formidable team in Randolph College. The Maroons were held scoreless, yet their defense was quite strong; creating plenty of chances outshooting Randolph 10-4.
The following game was a daunting task as ‘Noke went against the Batten University Marlins. Batten was undefeated, and has remained undefeated to date; however, Roanoke was able to put up an admirable fight against one of the region’s best. On the road in Virginia Beach, Roanoke was able to hold Batten to zero goals in the first half, and only lost by a final score of two to nothing. The Marlins have continued to dominate after their scare against the Maroons, drawing Division III’s No. 2 team 1-1 in the last week.
Roanoke, however, was unfazed by the unfortunate loss and bounced back easily, absolutely dominating in their next match against Hollins. At the Kerr Stadium in Salem, Roanoke was able to put up a whopping 37 shots on goal to Hollins’ zero in one of the most convincing efforts within all of ODAC this season. The shots amounted to 11 goals, including seven in the second half. Perhaps most impressively, all 11 goals were by a different person, showcasing the depth the Maroons possess.
Unfortunately, Roanoke dropped the ball against their most recent game with Lynchburg; their team winning 12 of their 15 games this season. Despite the loss, the Maroons held strong for most of the game and only lost by a score of 4-0, an impressive feat given the circumstances and being on the road in Lynchburg.
The Maroons have played very well thus far, so be sure to support them in their upcoming games against Averrett, Washington & Lee and Eastern Mennonite to close out the season!
