SALEM, Va. – The Sweet Briar College soccer team (0-4-3, 0-2-0 ODAC) battled through sustained pressure Saturday afternoon at Donald J. Kerr Stadium, falling 2–0 to the Roanoke College Maroons (4-2-3, 1-0-1 ODAC) in ODAC play, with both goals coming in the first half.
Roanoke controlled much of the early possession and registered several shots in the opening 20 minutes, but Sweet Briar first-year goalkeeper
Arianna Nguyen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) made three early saves to keep the game scoreless. Roanoke broke through in the 21st minute, with a goal at the 20:19 mark to give the Maroons a 1–0 advantage.
The Vixens continued to defend resolutely following the opening goal. Still, Roanoke doubled its lead at 27:26. Sweet Briar created its first opportunity of the afternoon late in the first half, as senior
Elise Bennett (Louisa, Va.) put a shot on target in the 36th minute. However, the Roanoke goalkeeper made the save. Nguyen added two more first-half stops, including a save on an attempt in the 43rd minute, and the Vixens entered halftime trailing 2–0.
Sweet Briar came out with renewed energy in the second half and held Roanoke scoreless over the final 45 minutes. Nguyen was especially busy, making 10 second-half saves and repeatedly denying chances for the Maroons.
The Vixens' best second-half chance came in the 69th minute, when senior
Alexis Diaz (Connelly Springs, N.C.) fired a shot high as Sweet Briar searched for a way back into the match. Defenders junior
Kaelin Hanson (Los Alamos, N.M.), senior
Mia Viccora (Fairfax, Va.), juniors
Maddie Ickes (Powhatan, Va.) and
Yadira Castrejon (Connelly Springs, N.C.), and sophomore
Abby Broom (Sylva, N.C.) helped the Vixens withstand seven Roanoke corner kicks and 28 total shots, while the team limited the Maroons to their two first-half goals.
Highlights
- This afternoon's game was the closest contest between the two programs since they played to a 2-2 tie in 1997.
- Nguyen recorded 15 saves, the second-highest single-game total of her career.
- Sweet Briar forced 15 offside calls against Roanoke.
What's Next
The Vixens will return home for the next two conference matchups against Shenandoah and Bridgewater on Sept. 30th and Oct. 3rd, respectively.
Visit the online home of Sweet Briar athletics,
vixenathletics.com, to stay up-to-date on all Vixens sports and coverage from the
Vixen Sports Network.
Click here to sign up for email blasts from Vixen Athletics.
You can also give the Sweet Briar Vixens a like on
Facebook and follow us on
Instagram,
Threads and
X (formerly Twitter).
