Box Score
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BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College rallied from an early 2-0 deficit Saturday afternoon to stun the defending ODAC champion Randolph College WildCats, 3-2, in the conference opener for both teams.
The victory was the fifth straight for the Eagles, ranked No. 9 in the South Atlantic regional poll. Bridgewater is now 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC. Randolph, the preseason favorite to win the ODAC, drops to 2-3-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
The WildCats took an early lead in the seventh minute when Jacob Hood booted a shot over the outstretched arm of BC goalie TJ Martin for a 1-0 Randolph lead.
Randolph missed a golden opportunity to add to the lead at the 9:11 mark when the Eagles were whistled for a foul inside the box. Martin, however, came up big for the Eagles when he made a diving save on Corey Sindle's low, driving shot to keep the score at 1-0.
The WildCats made the most of their next opportunity and this time Sindle didn't miss. The reigning conference Player of the Year lined up a direct kick from just outside the box and this time his shot found the back of the net for a 2-0 Randolph lead at the 25:34 mark.
The score remained 2-0 until the final minute of the half. Randolph was whistled for a foul and BC's Derek Newsome took the kick from 40 yards out. His long kick sailed just out of the reach of Randolph keeper Carter Smith and went just under the crossbar to put the Eagles on the board with just 29 seconds left in the opening half.
The Eagles opened the second half with an offensive flurry but the WildCats withstood the early barrage of shots to maintain a 2-1 lead.
Randolph then countered at their offensive end and just missed regaining its two-goal lead when Sindle's driving shot hit the crossbar. Randolph's John Vecchietti controlled the rebound but Martin turned his shot away to keep it a one-goal game at the 60-minute mark.
The Eagles finally scored the equalizer off an indirect kick in the 77th minute. Kevin Gorman put the kick on the right foot of Daniel Visone and Visone punched the ball past the keeper to tie the score at 2-2.
Bridgewater took the lead less than a minute later when Ricky Capuano dribbled through the Randolph defense, beating a pair of defenders before putting his shot past Smith for a 3-2 lead with less than 13 minutes left to play.
The Bridgewater defense kept the WildCats at bay during the final minutes to preserve the final 3-2 victory.
The Eagles held a 16-11 edge in shots while each team took three corner kicks. Martin recorded four saves while Randolph's Smith finished with five.
The Eagles are back in action Wednesday when they travel to Averett for a non-conference contest. Game time is 4:30 p.m.
