Lynchburg, Va. -- Caitlin Mertens (Succasunna, N.J.) won a scramble in the box and hammered the ball into the back of the net for the game-winning goal in the Lynchburg College women's soccer team's 3-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinal win over visiting Shenandoah Wednesday evening.

Mertens' 74th-minute goal capped off a three-goal half for second-seeded Lynchburg, which trailed No. 7-seeded SU 1-0 at half after an early goal. Katie Waring (Chester, Va.) and Rachel Cooke (Charlottesville, Va.) also scored for LC, and Delia LoSapio (Raleigh, N.C.) made four saves in goal.

THE RUNDOWN

Final: Lynchburg 3, Shenandoah 2

Records: Lynchburg 16-3, Shenandoah 10-9

Venue: Shellenberger Field, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

- Shenandoah leapt out to an early lead when Alison Spaziani took a run down the left side and netted a third-minute goal. The score remained 1-0 SU until halftime as several of Lynchburg's opportunities were derailed by offsides calls.

- Waring tied the match in the first minute after intermission, one-timing a Kennedy Jakubek (Leesburg, Va.) low cross into the net.

- After SU's Emily Yergin put the visiting Hornets back in the lead in the 54th minute, Sarah Hammock (Virginia Beach, Va.) played a 62nd-minute through-ball that Cooke controlled in the box and beat the SU keeper one-on-one to re-tie the match.

- Mertens netted the game-winner, her team-leading 12th goal of the season, sending the Lynchburg sideline into a frenzy.

LOOKING AHEAD

Lynchburg will head to Virginia Beach for the final two rounds of the ODAC tournament, beginning with Saturday's semifinals. The Hornets will face No. 3 seed Roanoke in one semifinal while top seed and host Virginia Wesleyan will play No. 4 Bridgewater in the other. Match times are still to-be-determined.

--LC--