VMI Battles St. Bonaventure to 1-1 Tie

Women's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

Strand's Goal Leads Keydets to Win Over Campbell, 1-0

LEXINGTON, Va. – A Sarah Strand goal off a rebound four minutes into the second half propelled VMI women's soccer to its first win of 2010, a 1-0 victory over the Campbell Fighting Camels, Saturday afternoon at Patchin Field.

After the teams played a relatively even, scoreless first half, VMI made a push for the go-ahead score early in the second period. A Casey Ridings shot 3:22 into the half was blocked, and the Keydets were able to parlay the loose ball into a corner kick chance.

That corner kick was hit short, and the ball was sent into the box from the right side of the field, approximately 25 yards to the left of Campbell goalie Jamie Panfil. Gabby McCarron, who was positioned inside the box, played the ball towards the goal and Panfil made the save. She could not, however, corral the rebound, which came loose at Strand's feet. The junior tapped it into the net for her first goal of the year, giving VMI the 1-0 lead it would not relinquish.

Heidi Beemer, making her second start of the year, posted her fifth career shutout by making nine saves. That shutout total ties teammate Angela Redmond for the most in program history. Panfil stopped three shots for Campbell.

With the win, the Keydets now sit at 1-5 on the year, while Campbell drops to 3-4-1 and suffers its second consecutive 1-0 loss to a Big South opponent, having also been defeated by Radford this past Thursday.

“What a great opportunity for us to have our first win happen at home, and against a good team in Campbell,” said VMI head coach Bryan Williams. “We knew they'd be tough, and I'm very proud of the way our team played this afternoon. We finally played a full 90 minutes, which is what we'd been looking for the whole year.”

On a cool, extremely overcast day at Patchin Field, neither team could muster a shot in the opening 13:12 of the contest. The visitors had the first opportunity with a shot at that point, but Beemer made her first save of the day. The VMI keeper then stopped three other tries over the next six-plus minutes, before VMI had their first shot attempted stopped by Panfil, a try by Ridings at 20:01.

Play then settled back into the midfield for the next 14 minutes, until the Fighting Camels had a cross attempt, a try that appeared to be curving towards the upper corner of the net, hit the crossbar and deflect away at 34:40.

VMI then had a Carolyn Kenaley header go wide moments later, before Campbell had its best chance of the opening half at the 40-minute mark. Marisa Muller got free just inside the box, but had her shot blocked by a Keydet defender. VMI could not clear the loose ball, and it appeared to be free in the box for several seconds before Hanna Salmen pounced on it for the Fighting Camels. She tested Beemer with a shot, but the VMI netminder was up to the task, and the match went to halftime scoreless.

The Keydets came out in the second half with the same lineup they had used the first 45 minutes, and it made an early push. Amanda Berrios got free for a shot a minute in to the period, but sent the try wide. VMI kept the pressure on, however, setting the stage for the go-ahead goal by Strand.

“Sarah's goal was a terrific goal,” said Coach Williams. “It was created by the corner, and the build we had after it, and then Sarah was able to put the rebound back after Gabby's shot.”

With VMI up 1-0, the match was far from over. Just 90 seconds after the score, Muller had a chance on goal for CU, but sent the try wide. The Keydets responded in the 53rd minute, when Ridings sent a cross to the back post for what could have been a key insurance goal. The pass just eluded a Keydet forward and skipped away, keeping the score 1-0.

Both teams continued to press, as the 64th minute saw the Fighting Camels test Beemer again. This time, an Annabelle Gibney shot was the culprit, but the VMI keeper elevated for the ball. She deflected it off the crossbar with her right hand, and it caromed away to keep VMI in front. Following a yellow card moments later, Beemer stopped another Campbell attempt off a free kick.

The Keydets had a chance to put the match away in the 76th minute, when a ball was sent deep into the CU zone. Panfil, one of the Fighting Camel defenders and a pair of Keydets all converged on the ball, resulting in a pile-up in the box. When the dust cleared, Panfil had the ball and VMI had not been able to get off a shot.

With the clock ticking down, the visitors continued to press for the tying goal. A Muller shot off a perfect header pass in the 81st minute was stopped by Beemer, and Salmen missed wide in the 84th minute.

With 2:30 left, Campbell had one last chance. Muller took a pass just on the VMI side of the field and eluded a Keydet defender. With another VMI back line player just behind her, she took a quick shot in the 1 vs 1 situation with Beemer, sending a try towards the far post. The shot went just wide and would be the final opportunity, as VMI was able to run out the clock and prevail, 1-0.

“I give a lot of credit to our midfield today,” offered Coach Williams. “Carolyn Kenaley, Sarah Strand and Amanda Berrios held the ball and made everything we did up the center very dangerous for Campbell to deal with. I also credit Christelle Ndongo for controlling their top player, Olga Ekblom, as she did a great job marking her out of the match. Our back line played exceptionally well together, highlighted by Heidi's efforts in goal and LaCreshia Page and Kelly Morrison in front of her. Also, this was probably one of the best combined matches for Gabby McCarron and Jen Ball, who held the outside against a lot of quality Campbell attacks.”

The final stat sheet saw Campbell hold a 18-10 edge in shot attempts, with the margin being 9-4 in tries on goal. Only five corner kicks were attempted in the match, while the foul count read VMI 12, Campbell 6.

VMI women's soccer will return to action Monday, as the Keydets travel to Washington, D.C. to take on Howard University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Jen Ball

#17 Jen Ball

D/M
5' 4"
Senior
Heidi Beemer

#1 Heidi Beemer

GK
5' 10"
Senior
Amanda Berrios

#16 Amanda Berrios

M/F
5' 7"
Junior
Carolyn Kenaley

#8 Carolyn Kenaley

MF
5' 3"
Senior
Gabby McCarron

#3 Gabby McCarron

D
5' 9"
Junior
Kelly Morrison

#11 Kelly Morrison

D/M
5' 7"
Junior
Christelle Ndongo

#2 Christelle Ndongo

F/D
6' 1"
Sophomore
Angela Redmond

#00 Angela Redmond

GK
5' 6"
Senior
Sarah Strand

#10 Sarah Strand

MF
5' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jen Ball

#17 Jen Ball

5' 4"
Senior
D/M
Heidi Beemer

#1 Heidi Beemer

5' 10"
Senior
GK
Amanda Berrios

#16 Amanda Berrios

5' 7"
Junior
M/F
Carolyn Kenaley

#8 Carolyn Kenaley

5' 3"
Senior
MF
Gabby McCarron

#3 Gabby McCarron

5' 9"
Junior
D
Kelly Morrison

#11 Kelly Morrison

5' 7"
Junior
D/M
Christelle Ndongo

#2 Christelle Ndongo

6' 1"
Sophomore
F/D
Angela Redmond

#00 Angela Redmond

5' 6"
Senior
GK
Sarah Strand

#10 Sarah Strand

5' 9"
Junior
MF