Salem, VA (11/5/02) -The Roanoke College men's soccer team, ranked 12th in the nation at the NCAA Division III level, advanced to the championship contest of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament with a 4-2 win over Guilford College on Wednesday afternoon. With the semifinal victory, the Maroons improve to 17-3-1 on the season. Guilford ends its year with an 11-6-2 overall record, the first season since the 1986 campaign that the Quakers had finished with a winning record.

            Roanoke controlled the pace of play in the first half, scoring three times while outshooting the Quakers, 10-1. Blake MacKeen (Winston-Salem, NC/Forsyth Country Day) got the Maroons on the board first, that in the 13th minute. After a corner kick was knocked down in the box, David Lechtrecker (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) took control of the ball and found MacKeen about six yards away. The Maroons went up 2-0 on a Harold McConnell (Sussex, NJ/High Point Regional) unassisted tally. McConnell had his original shot saved, but got the rebound and scored his second goal of the season. Freshman Elliott Stallings (Blacksburg, VA/Blacksburg) would also score on a rebound, later in the first 45 minutes of play, the eventual game-winner.

            The Quakers made things interesting early in the second. Off of a free kick 10 yards away from the top of the Roanoke box, Quakers freshman Aran Haven-O' Donnell (Chapel Hill, NC/Chapel Hill) cut Roanoke's lead to two goals by trickling a shot past the RC defense and keeper with 30:22 to play. Maroon Donny Smith (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) countered with Roanoke's fourth goal five minutes later. Guilford's Noam Sorek (Atlit, Israel/Ort Hirak Bialik) capped the day's scoring with 18:00 to play on a penalty kick. Roanoke sweeper Glenn Hayman (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) was called for a sliding foul in the box, resulting in the penalty kick.

            Roanoke will attempt to win its second consecutive ODAC championship, and receive the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, on Sunday. The Maroons will host either Washington and Lee or Randolph-Macon. The pair, after W&L was 'reborn' in the postseason after Virginia Wesleyan was expelled after using an ineligible player, will play the other semifinal match at 12:00pm on Saturday in Lexington, VA.