Posted: Jun 10, 2015
The Maroons finished the season with seven wins, but had a strong second half to the season, winning six of their last eight games. During the six wins, the Maroons outscored their opponents 95-41. The Maroons also put together two back-to-back ODAC Player of the Week awards, as Darragh Evarts and Claire Feeney both earned the weekly nod. A pair of Maroons end their career at Roanoke College among the best in program history. Evarts ranks among the top five all-time at Roanoke College in eight statistical categories including: draw controls (1st – 337), points, (3rd – 310), goals (3rd – 231), assists (5th – 79), free position goals (3rd – 46), and caused turnovers (4th – 89). Goalkeeper Lauren Curtin also ranks in the top five all-time at Roanoke in saves (5th – 462) and wins (4th – 32)
The Maroons started the season off with a spring break trip to Puerto Rico, where they faced off against Christopher Newport. The women played to a tight contest, but the Maroons fell to the Captains 14-11 in the overseas game. Roanoke returned to the states for its home opener against #4 ranked Middlebury College. Roanoke took a loss to the top-five ranked team, but bounced back in their ODAC Opener on March 23rd against Hollins. The Maroons blanked Hollins 19-0 in the game, with Evarts and Nicole Zelnik scoring four goals each.
Roanoke played against Saint Mary's of Maryland in its next game, a team who had received votes in the IWLCA weekly poll up to that point. The Maroons outscored the Seahawks in the second half, but didn't overcome the first half deficit in another close game against a strong national team.
The loss to Saint Mary's spurred a fire under the Maroons who went on a seven game win streak in ODAC play following that loss. Roanoke started with an 11-9 win over Bridgewater on March 30th at home, then followed that up with a 10-7 come from behind victory over Guilford. The Maroons trailed 6-4 at half, then outscored the Quakers 6-1 in the second half for the win. Evarts and Zelnik scored three goals each in the second half to lead the Maroons to victory.
In the next two games of the season for Roanoke, the Maroons put up at least 20 goals in their wins over Randolph (20-6) and Sweet Briar (22-6). After the win against Randolph, Darragh Evarts was named ODAC Player of the Week. For the week, she tallied 15 points, 10 draw controls, six ground balls and four forced turnovers. The women finished their home schedule with an 18-6 win over Virginia Wesleyan on Alumni Weekend. On the following Monday, Claire Feeney was named ODAC Player of the Week in Roanoke's second consecutive nod from the conference. Her week consisted of a 14-point effort, which included 11 goals during a two game span. Roanoke's final victory of the season came as a 14-7 positive outcome over Lynchburg College. The final game of the regular season was a tough 12-10 loss to Randolph-Macon, with Feeney leading the Maroons with four goals, while Evarts notched three.
Roanoke closed the regular season as the #4 seed in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament. Their ranking set them up to face off against Lynchburg College, who Roanoke had previously defeated 14-7 earlier in the season. The two teams were tied 3-3 at half time, but the Hornets outscored the Maroons 7-2 in the second half, knocking the Maroons out of the ODAC Tournament.
The Maroons had two players who were named to the 2015 IWLCA All-Chesapeake Region Teams. Darragh Evarts was tabbed with first-team honors and Claire Feeney earned the second-team accolade.
Evarts, from Goldens Bridge, NY, picks up her third-consecutive All-Chesapeake First-Team nod. She also completed her sweep of First-Team All-ODAC awards by earning that honor all four years. She finished the 2015 season among the top-10 in the ODAC (9th) in goals with 36. She also finished the season with 18 assists and 54 total points, which put her at seventh in the ODAC in both categories. The senior captain finished with a team-best 46 draw controls. The programs' all-time leader in career draw controls (337), ranks second all-time in shots on goal (336), and third in points (310), goals (231), shots (423) and free position goals (46).
Feeney, from Old Greenwich, CT earns her second All-Chesapeake region award, receiving first-team honors a year ago. She also received her second straight All-ODAC First-Team honor this spring for hte Maroons. Feeney finished the 2015 season among the top-10 in the ODAC (9th) in goals with 36. She finished 10th in the ODAC in assists (14) and in scoring (50 pts). The junior ended the year with 18 draw controls, 14 ground balls, and eight forced turnovers. She enters next year with 98 career goals and 34 assists, which gives her 132 total points going into her senior season.
Two other players were named to All-ODAC squads as well, with Katie Gehrdes being named All-ODAC Second Team, while Meredith Bigelow earned the Third Team nod.
Gehrdes from Annapolis, MD, earns her first All-ODAC nod in her junior season, picking up Second Team honors in 2015. She led the team in ground balls, scooping up 28 this season. She also finished with eight draw controls and 16 forced turnovers, leading the team in the latter category. In two seasons, Gehrdes has 25 forced turnovers, 61 ground balls, and two goals, both coming from her freshman season.
Bigelow, a native of Annapolis, MD, garnered her first All-ODAC award in her sophomore season with the Maroons. She finished the season with 21 goals, ranking third on the team, while dishing out eight assist, fourth most for the Maroons. She had a total of 33 draw controls, second behind Evarts, as well as 15 ground balls and nine forced turnovers. Bigelow scored a career high four goals against Randolph College on April 3rd.
