On Nov. 1, the clock for the second overtime ran out and the Guilford women’s soccer game against Eastern Mennonite was still tied 0-0. After 110 minutes without a goal, the fate of the game would be determined by a penalty kick shoot-out. Senior goalie Veronica Zych, who recently won the Guilford Student-Athlete of the Week Award, successfully blocked Lindsay Snyder’s shot during the final round, which was the fifth attempted penalty kick of the allotted five.

“Penalty kicks can be a goalie’s nightmare but (Zych) handled it with ease, composure, and the game-winning save,” said senior captain Rachel Gwinn.

With the pressure on, senior captain Emily Ott converted on her penalty kick, making the score 5-4 in favor of Guilford. By defeating Eastern Mennonite, the team advanced to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament final.

The following Saturday, the first ODAC championship game ever to be hosted at Guilford took place between The Quakers and The Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan.

“Playing Virginia Wesleyan at home has been a long-standing dream of mine come true,” said Ott. “I respect their players and coaches a lot and I think that overall, they are one of the classiest teams in our conference.”

Students, parents, and faculty gathered at Haworth Field to watch and cheer on the team.

Within the first five minutes of the opening half, Virginia Wesleyan’s Jackie Ochs-Gregory headed the ball into Guilford’s goal making the score 1-0. The two teams continued to battle up and down the field but neither scored for the remainder of the half.

Guilford came within inches of tying the match early in the second half when a 40-yard shot attempt from junior midfielder Micki Boulineau ricocheted of the cross bar of Virginia Wesleyan’s goal. Shortly after, Marlin’s Forward Jen Colwell converted on a pass from Christina Smith making the score 2-0 and putting the win out of reach for the Quakers.

The game clock ran out and Virginia Wesleyan walked away with an automatic bid in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.

“After the referee’s final whistle blew, the first thing I did was smile because the energy of the Wesleyan players was a little contagious, but [I smiled] mostly because I thought that all of my teammates and I played a great game,” Ott said.

Despite not going to the NCAA playoffs, the 2006 Quakers still compiled one of their winningest seasons ever.

“The team finished with a 13-6-3 record for the overall season, which ties with the school record for the number of wins in a season,” said Dave Walters, Sports Information Director/Assistant Director of Athletics. “The team also had a 9-1-1 record for their ODAC conference games. This is the best record for the ODAC conference that the women’s soccer team has had in the school’s history.”

The team has also received a number of individual accolades from the conference. Forward Jennah Carter, the Quaker’s leading scorer, was selected to the First Team All-ODAC squad while Boulineau and midfielder Caroline Hemeter were chosen for the Second-Team.

When reflecting on the Quaker’s successful season, Ott said, “I think that what makes us a strong team is that we’re scrappy, we love playing, and we all have different strengths that combine to make a diverse and dangerous arsenal.”

The squad expects to return 15 letter winners in 2007.