Posted: Nov 06, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH , Va. - Katie Gradel, the highest goal producing rookie women's soccer player for Virginia Wesleyan College since 2001, added to her totals Thursday by ripping in the game-winning goal in a 2-1 decision over Roanoke College , giving the host Marlins a berth in the 2008 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship game.
Virginia Wesleyan (14-1-3), the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will host that title game on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. on Foster Field at the Trinder Center . Lynchburg College (18-0-3), the No. 2 seed, will battle the Marlins in a game that will decide not only the 2008 champion, but also the team that earns the conference's automatic berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championship tournament.
For now however, the Marlins will savor the hard-fought win on a rain-soaked field over the Maroons (11-7-2), who fell the VWC for the second time this season. Roanoke did score its first goal on VWC since 2002 when senior standout Meredith Grunewald launched a free kick from about 30 yards out into the upper right corner of the net in the 33rd minute. With that goal, she set the school's single-season scoring mark (46) for her 17th goal of the season.
Four minutes later, the Marlins answered when sophomore Meaghan DiBiasebeat the goalie with a shot into the lower left corner in the 37th minute to tie the score at one apiece.
Gradel, who had the assist on the first goal, came through in a physical second half that included 18 fouls to score the go-ahead goal with just over 10 minutes remaining. It was the ninth goal of the season for her, tied for the most on the team.
Virginia Wesleyan held a slim 12-10 advantage in shots, as the Maroons came on strong in the second half to out-shoot the host team 7-5. The Marlins also had the edge in corner kicks, 6-5.
Junior Allison Lennox,ranked among the nation's top five goalies in goals against average and save percentage, finished with two saves for the Marlins. Lindsay Kooiman recorded six saves for Roanoke.
Seniors Grunewald and Kristen McCoy have left their mark in the history of Roanoke women's soccer. Grunewald finished her career among the top-10 in scoring (3rd), goals (4th), assists (1st), game-winners (3rd), shots (7th) and shots on goal (5th). McCoy ended her career second all-time at Roanoke in points (113), goals (51), game-winners (11), shots (266) and shots on goal (141).
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