VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Senior goalie Tom Skartsiaris (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) recorded a career-high 27 saves Saturday to help guide the host Virginia Wesleyan College's Marlins to a 15-12 victory over the No. 14-ranked Maroons of Roanoke College in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener for both teams at the Trinder Center.

Roanoke (4-3, 0-1), the defending ODAC champion and preseason favorite to repeat at No. 1, fell victim to a stunning 11-1 run by the Marlins (6-3, 1-0), who backed some alert offensive play with an aggressive defensive effort.

Virginia Wesleyan trailed 9-4 with 7:24 remaining in the second period when momentum began to shift, sparked by several key saves by Skartsiaris. Sophomore Shawn Fitchpatrick (Endicott, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) and senior Jordan Kenney (Linthicum, Md./Baltimore Mount St. Joseph) scored back-to-back goals in a span of 52 seconds to pull the Marlins within a 9-6 score at halftime.

In the next 36 minutes of competition covering the final 6:05 of the second quarter and the entire second half, competition was intense on both sides of the field. Roanoke launched 37 shots in that time, but was frustrated by the effort of Skartsiaris, who recorded 20 saves in that span. The Maroons did score three times, but Virginia Wesleyan scored nine off 29 shots.

After the teams traded goals in the first four minutes of the second half, the Marlins came on strong again, ignited by a shot and score on the run from about 10 feet out by sophomore Chad Hill (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrew's) with 8:10 on the clock.

An unassisted goal by Kenney cut Roanoke's lead to 10-9 at 6:59 and a minute later the game was tied when junior Drew Langis (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) scored off a feed from Hill. The teams battled with the deadlocked score into the final minute of the quarter when the Marlins took the lead on a shot by rookie Damian Becker (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) off a Kenney assist.

Kenney, Becker, Hill and senior Brett Morris (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) all scored big goals in the first eight minutes of the final quarter to push VWC out to a 15-10 advantage with 7:21 remaining. Matt Quinton scored two goals in the closing minutes for Roanoke.

Six Marlins scored goals, led by Kenney with five. Langis, Morris, Hill, Fitchpatrick, and Becker all tallied twice. The Marlins also produced eight assists, led by Kenney and Langis with two each.

Quinton and Pat March provided a strong 1-2 combination for Roanoke. Quinton fired in six goals and March finished with six assists. Ashton Hotchkiss also had two goals for the Maroons, who received one each from Chas Carlson, Billy Cameron, Drew Manley, and Stephen Simmons. Carlson was the only other Maroon to record an assist.

Jake Dorsey and Nick Peck played in front of the goal for Roanoke. Dorsey produced 12 saves.

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Virginia Beach, Va. --- The men's lacrosse team fell to Virginia Wesleyan, 15-12 in the ODAC opener on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Maroons slipped to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the ODAC. The Marlins propelled to 6-3, 1-0 in the conference.

The Maroons took a 9-4 lead after a Matt Quinton goal off an assist from Chas Carlson. The Marlins scored two goals before the half to make it 9-6 heading into the second half.

Virginia Wesleyan stormed out the gate in the third period to outscore Roanoke, 5-1 and take an 11-10 lead entering the final stanza.

The Marlins continued to roll in the fourth, scoring the next five goals to make it a 15-10 advantage. Matt Quinton scored the final two goals to give the final result.

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2008-03-22