WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University women's soccer team begins its quest for an ODAC championship Wednesday afternoon with a 3:30 ODAC Tournament quarterfinal round game at Virginia Wesleyan.
 
The sixth-seeded Hornets (11-7) travel to Hampton Roads to take on the third-seeded Marlins (11-3-3) for the second time in two weeks.
 
On October 23 in Winchester, VWU scored with 25 seconds remaining in overtime to escape with a 2-1 victory.
 
Sophomore Maiya Pencile, off of a Taylor Morris assist, had knotted the game at 1-1 for SU.
 
The two teams then played the final 13:46 of regulation and 19:24 of sudden-victory overtime before Kennedi Anders netted the game-winner for the visitors.
 
The win was the ninth straight for VWU over the Hornets dating back to October 22, 2000.
 
Shenandoah brings the ODAC's third-best offense into the game, scoring 3.35 goals per outing, with Virginia Wesleyan fifth at 2.18.
 
Defensively, the Hornets are 10^th at 1.48 goals per game allowed and the Marlins fourth with just 0.64.
 
SU brings three of the league's top 10 scorers into the game with Emily Yergin's 30 points on 13 goals and four assists third in the league.
 
Pencile is tied for fourth at 29 points and Abby Alexa seventh with 24 points.
 
Pencile's nine assists leads the league with Alexa right behind her at eight.
 
Alexa, a junior, did not play in the initial matchup this season versus Virginia Wesleyan.
 
Reina Araujo is the Marlins leading scorer at 18 points on seven goals and four assists. Mia Meinhardt is the only other player at VWU in double figures – she has six goals and one assist for 13 points.
 
Goalkeepers Amruta Karkare and Tristen Roberts have split time this season with each starting eight games and making 10 appearances. In Karkare's 809 minutes, she has 24 saves and three shutouts.
 
Roberts has played 807 minutes and has two shutouts and 13 saves to her credit.
 
Sophomore Emilie Smith won the Hornets starting goalkeeper job midway through the season and has 33 saves in 751 minutes of action.
 
The winner of Wednesday's game takes on the winner of the No. 2 Washington & Lee versus No. 7 Ferrum quarterfinal round contest. That game will be played at the highest remaining seed in the tournament on Saturday, November 9. Randolph-Macon enters the tourney as the top seed.
 
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