“I’m expecting a good game – a hard fought, physical game,” head soccer coach Jeff Bateson said prior to the Friday’s men’s soccer game against Randolph-Macon. Last Friday, the men stepped onto a slick Appenzeller field, in the rain, and matched up against the Yellow Jackets in their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game of the season. The Quakers shut out the Yellow Jackets for a 2-0 score to improve to 5-2-1.

The Quakers came out to win, and because of the nature of the ODAC, Quaker players knew that it would be a hard fight.

“This game was more physical than the games we’ve had this year,” senior forward Jeff Floyd said. “ODAC only gets worse. All ODAC games will be (more physical) now.”

Sophomore goalie Peter Truitt was a victim of aggressive play in the first half when he jumped onto a skipping ball. Randolph-Macon forward Conner Alexander ran through the diving Truitt and kicked him in the forearm, breaking the bone.

Unfortunately, the foul was never called, and Truitt had to leave the game with a season-ending injury.

“One of the bad (parts of the game) was the ref, so we had to work with that,” said first-year forward Freddy Gomez.

Despite controversial calls by the referee and the injury incurred on Truitt, the team remained focused. With only two minutes remaining in the first half, Gomez received a pass from sophomore Jordan Alexander and took a shot that sailed into the left corner of the goal, out of reach of Yellow Jacket’s goalie Colin Royster. Shouts rang out from the stands as Gomez performed a victory dance and high-fived his teammates.

Behind Gomez, the Quakers offense took 14 shots, seven on net, forcing Royster to make five saves.

The Quaker defense allowed only five shots on goal, which were all saved by sophomore goalies Jonathan Shine and Truitt.

Aggressive play continued in the second half as the Yellow Jackets fought for a comeback. Macon added 12 fouls to their total while Guilford added nine, but no yellow cards were issued.

“The ref was letting people play,” Floyd said. “He wasn’t going to pull a card on anyone, I don’t think. I don’t know if he was scared or what, but we even had people hitting each other after plays.”

With only eight minutes left in the game, Guilford up 1-0, Gomez charged the right side of the goal and shot the ball in the side netting of the far post past Royster. The goal evoked another wave of screams from the bleachers of Armfield Athletic Center. Gomez’s two goals improved his season goal-count to seven.

In the last 30 seconds, Yellow Jacket’s sophomore midfielder Ethan Cornello got one last shot off from midfield that fell short of the goal. As the ball rolled into Shine’s gloves, time was called and the Quakers won.

The win over Randolph-Macon was the third consecutive win for the men and was a follow-up to their 2-1 victory against Ferrum College on Sept. 16. The team hasn’t seen a three-game winning-streak since 2004; some players believe that it is the team’s will to win.

“Coach calls it alligator blood.” Truit said. “We never ever stop playing no matter how the game goes. I think it’s something that has sunk in for all of us.