Lynchburg, Va. -- The Marlins abruptly ended the Hornets season last year in the ODAC Quarterfinals but this time around Lynchburg got the last laugh as they defeated their ODAC foe, 1-0.

The match started off aggressive and the intense level of play did not subside for the rest of the game as challenges become more frequent with the teams combining for 20 fouls and three yellow cards, all given to Marlin players.

Having not played in over a week, the players were itching to get back on the pitch as the atmosphere was electric during warmups. Coaches and players were pumping each other up and the fans were shuffling into their seats, getting ready to cheer on the 22nd ranked Hornets.

The Hornets held the advantage in the first 15 minutes as senior Ben Grossfuss, junior Fredy Flores and sophomore Clay Van Gieson all got off shots but were able to find the back of the net.

Freshman Jack Ashby got off two shots off as well and it was his second attempt, in the 18th minute, that found the mark. The midfielder had started a counterattack and was making his way down the right sideline in front of the Virginia Wesleyan bench when one of his fellow players lost possession. Ashby slowed his run and grabbed control of the loose ball and hit the defender with a hard feint to the right and took a touch to his left. With the ball on his favorite foot, Ashby looked up and recognized that he had the ball in a good position for a strike.

He took two steps hit the outside of the ball with the inside of his foot sending the ball curling away from goal but as it crossed the 8-yard box it began to curl back and the Marlin goalkeeper undersetimated the pace of the shot, resulting in a goal as it entered the top right corner.

The second half saw a more conservative approach from the Hornets as they were content keeping possesion and stringing together large number of passes in their own half. Virginia Wesleyan had their chances but sophomore goalkeeper Dylan McLaurin had a great night between the posts for the Hornets and even though he only recorded one save, a majority of his efforts do not show up in the stat line. McLaurin notches his sixth shutout of the season and moves to 7-0-2.

Van Gieson led the Hornets with four shots while Ashby accompanied his first goal of the season with three shots and sophomore Austin Kues added two more.

The Men's Soccer team returns to action Oct. 4th with a road match at Eastern Mennonite with a start time of 7:00 p.m and will be back on Shellenberger Field for Homecoming Weekend as they play host to Bridgewater College on Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m.