(October 6, 2007) VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Virginia Wesleyan found the back of the net three times in the opening nine minutes of play and held on to claim a 3-1 win over visiting Hampden-Sydney. The loss is the first in the conference for the Tigers and the team's first in their last seven games. Hampden-Sydney falls to 6-5-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the ODAC, while the Marlins improve to 11-2, 4-2 in the conference.

Virginia Wesleyan opened scoring in the second minute of action when Robbie Mann gathered a free kick and fired a shot that was deflected past Tigers' goalkeeper John Robert Plyler (Charlotte, NC/Myers Park). The Marlins extended their lead to 2-0 in the fifth minute as Mann hooked up with forward Brandon Massie at the corner of the box, who went far post for his ODAC-leading 12th goal of the season. Virginia Wesleyan's Bryan Harris pushed the score to 3-0 just four minutes later.

The Tigers got on the scoreboard with just under nine minutes to play in the half when junior Robert Baybutt (Mechanicsville, VA/Lee Davis) played a through ball to sophomore forward David Burley (Mount Pleasant, SC/Wando) in space, who beat charging Marlins' keeper Zane Krezonis, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

In the 48th minute, Plyler came up huge, making a brilliant one-on-one save on Virginia Wesleyan's Clay Price, who had gotten behind the Tigers' defense.

The Tigers used that momentum to out-shoot the Marlins in the remainder of the second half. Hampden-Sydney's pressure resulted in several great scoring opportunities, but the Tigers were unable to convert as the Marlins earned a big home win.

Hampden-Sydney received a number of great efforts on the afternoon, with freshman midfielder Matt Hampton (Virginia Beach, VA/Kellam) controlling much of the second half with his excellent distribution in the middle of the field and sophomore defender Brett Chonko (Farmville, VA/Prince Edward) contributing a solid second half.

The Tigers will take a break from conference competition with two non-conference matches over the Fall Break. Hampden-Sydney will host Randolph College on Monday, Oct. 8 at 4 pm, and will travel to Ferrum College for a 3:30 pm match on Tuesday, Oct. 9.