"I had the opportunities and finished them off into the back of the net," said Kozlowski. "Overall, it was a team effort." The Lady Marlins prepared themselves for another two games in a row. The first game was at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Their four-game winning streak, starting with a 3-0 win against Bridgewater College on Sept. 30, ended as North Carolina Wesleyan College beat the visiting Lady Marlins 1-0. However, the women’s team rebounded quickly in the game against Randolph-Macon Women’s College, beating them 5-0. Junior Melanie Braswell led the team in scoring with two goals. Barg, Hite, and Buswell each contributed with one goal. With the end of the regular season nearing an end, preparations for the ODAC tournament have already begun.

"Our team has been preparing since day one for the ODAC tournament, and the season is just the process of getting there," said Coach Jeff Bowers. Like the other teams in the conference, the team thinks they are in contention for the conference championship. "I believe we expect to compete hard and rise to the challenge," said Bowers. "We think we can win the tournament, yet there are other teams who have the same expectation. I think the toughest competition at the ODAC tournament is ourselves, coming prepared to play both mentally and physically." For the women, the regular season ends Saturday, Oct. 20, against Lynchburg College. Game time is 12 p.m. at Foster Field. To finish the season, the Lady Marlins will compete in the ODAC tournament the following Saturday, Oct. 27.

I like baseball. I like Barry Bonds. I like records. What’s my point? My like for all of these things has turned into a love for Bonds and how the man plays baseball. Most recently Bonds broke Mark McGwire’s single season home-run record. However, the most impressive realization I had at this feat was not that Bonds hit 73 homeruns, compared to McGwire’s 70, but the fact that Bonds accomplished more than that. The man ripped pitchers a new -- let’s just say, "mound" to be on the safe side. McGwire, a question mark for the Hall of Fame, will be remembered for the year he hit 70 home runs and the fact that he is one of the most prolific home run hitters of all time (583 and counting), but Bonds, a shoe-in for the Hall Of Fame, will be remembered for much more. Bonds not only broke the single season home run record, but the single season walks record (177) as well, which means the man wasn’t pitched to. He also compiled a .328 batting average, 137 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .863 and a measly .515 on base percentage. Yes, Bonds was on base every other plate appearance. Does he sound like a complete player to you yet? Oops, I forgot defense. No worry, Bonds is an eight-time Gold Glove outfielder while McGwire has only one Gold Glove.

Barry Bonds is a lifetime .292 hitter, McGwire, .263. Bonds has 138 stolen bases, McGwire, 12. Bonds’ career on base percentage sits at .419, McGwire, .394. Bonds has 3 (and a probable 4th) Most Valuable Player awards, McGwire, 0. Maybe these statistics are why Bonds was voted as the nation’s top professional athlete in 1993 and voted Player of the Decade for the 1990s by The Sporting News. I am going to be honest with you here. Until this season I was not a big Barry Bonds fan. I thought he was cocky, conceited, selfish and incapable of reaching the likes of Cal Ripken, Jr. or Tony Gwynn. However, I now place Bonds in the very small category of the "Good Guys" in baseball. The man does his job for his team, for his fans and for his family. Is he over paid? Yeah, but aren’t they all? Yet, you can look at it like this. Bonds made $10.3 million this year for his MVP performance. McGwire collected $11 million in change for hitting .187. I like to watch baseball. I like to watch Bonds. I like to watch records being broken. I love all these things, especially when a record is broken by someone who will not only be remembered for that record, but for his completeness.

The men’s lacrosse team started to arrive at the field around 9 a.m. ready to play an anticipated game against the alumni team on Saturday, Oct. 6. Returning players from last year’s squad included midfielder Jack Lingo, midfielder Bill Nase, attack Art Huger, and defensive players Ben Stinson, Rich Welsh and Chris Curtis. "We had a lot of fun playing the game," said alumni Bill Nase. "We wanted to win, but it was nice playing with all my teammates again." This was the first game situation for the Marlins this year. "The alumni game was a great experience for the freshmen on the team," said senior attack Bill Lingo. "It helped to prepare them for our tournament next weekend." Despite the rain that poured down for the majority of the game, the crowd that included about 50 people stayed throughout the game and showed their support. Although the Marlins were concentrating on things they needed to work on to prepare for their upcoming tournament, they exchanged some smiles, some chatter, and even some memorable hits with the alumni. The Marlins’ next stop will be at Widener College in Pennsylvania on Oct. 13 to play a 3 game tournament.

With only two conference games left before the ODAC tournament, the time in the season has come for the men’s soccer team when every game counts. After playing three hard games last week, the VWC record is now 9-6 overall and 5-2 in the conference. "I believe that our games don’t just build character, they also reveal it," said sophomore captain Josh Hill. The Marlins faced Greensboro College, ranked 8th in the region, on Homecoming weekend. Though not a conference game, the two teams have always been rivals, as the Marlins have lost to Greensboro in the first round of the national tournament last three seasons. Proven by the amount of yellow cards handed out during the game- each team received 4- it was obvious that both teams were not giving up. When Greensboro finally scored, the Marlins didn’t give them any time to get excited. Freshman Jon Mills tied the game only 82 seconds after their goal was scored. With the defense fighting hard, the Marlins couldn’t keep the ball out of the net, Greensboro took the lead with only12:31 left in the game. The Marlins finished with 10 shots on goal while Greensboro had 13. "The season’s been up and down but we have all the potential to be a great team," said freshman Caleb Hill. "We need to come together as a team, not as 11 individual players."

During the game against conference team Hampden-Sydney, the men played as a team as they posted a 4-0 win over the Tigers. Leading the offense with two goals was junior Josh Nolz. Bruce Krezonis and Phil Downing each had a goal a piece. "Nolz probably had his best game of the season," said Coach Sonny Travis. "He definitely made the difference for us today." With this win giving the Marlins the confidence they needed, they visited Roanoke College. Roanoke is ranked 4th in the region while Wesleyan is 10th. Even with these rankings, the two teams were tied for second place in the conference. The Marlins also faced a challenge of having to play without captain Josh Hill who suffered from a hamstring injury. Roanoke didn’t give the Marlins a chance to shoot. The Marlins were out shot 8-3. Only 22 minutes into the game, Roanoke took the lead. With a red card given to Nolz at the 44 minutes into the game, the Marlins had to play without a man for the remainder of the game. The men lost to Roanoke, 1-0. "It didn’t seem like we were focused," said Hill, "we need to go into each game with more confidence in ourselves and our teammates." With only two conference games left, the Marlins will have to learn how to overcome this challenge. The men will face ODAC opponent, Emory and Henry, on Saturday Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.

The Lady Marlins suffered a tough loss on Tuesday, Oct. 16, even though they outshot CNU 33- 23. The Captains defeated the Marlins 5-2. The two Marlin goals were scored by Jaclyn Bailey and Jana Popeleski. The team split games on the road this weekend. The Lady Marlins were defeated by Lynchburg College, 1-2, on Saturday, Oct. 14. Yet they were able to turn their game around on Sunday, Oct. 15, for a victory over Sweetbriar College. Injury is an obstacle for the ladies this season. Gayla Dalrymple-Smith and Lindsay Mike, both forwards, are suffering from injuries. Dalrymple-Smith continues to play with a broken thumb and torn ligament. Mike has a torn PCL and hasn’t played in the last four games. She plans to save herself for the ODAC tournament at the end of the season. "Despite recent injuries we still are a strong team and still have the ability to compete," said freshman forward Lori Ashmore.

The Marlins played Mary Washington at home on Oct. 10. During the first half, goalkeeper Rachel Willis received a red card. Katie Simon was brought into replace her. The Marlins lost 5-0. "We stepped up and played well under the circumstances," said Simon. The Marlins were away Oct. 8 at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The Marlins were victorious with the final score being 2-1. Sophomore forward Jackie Griffin scored both goals for the Marlins. This was the team’s first away victory this season. "St. Mary’s was a turnaround for us," said Willis. For Homecoming, the Marlins faced Bridgewater College in the rain. Despite the weather, the Marlins won 2-1. Popeleski scored the first goal and was assisted by Mike. Mike scored the second goal on a penalty stroke. The intensity level was high. They were excited about the Homecoming game.

"We came out hard and played well considering the weather conditions," said Head Coach Michelle Burt. The Marlins were home again on Oct. 3. They were defeated 0-1 by Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. The Lady Marlins overall record is 7-10. In the conference, their record is 4-5. The Marlins last game will be home against Mary Baldwin College on Parent’s Weekend Oct. 20. "We have had some rough spells and are staring to pick it up now," said team captain Rebecca Hopkins. The first game of the ODAC tournament is on Oct. 23. The Marlins are working hard to improve their game to compete well. "I think we have a good chance, we have never made it past the first round and our team is real determined and when we play together we can play and beat any team on a good day," said sophomore Lauren Pasternak.

Approaching the end of the season, the cross country team is showing what it takes to bring home an ODAC victory. "It’s required a lot of hard work and commitment but it’s been worth it," said sophomore Teresa Mucci. Both the men and the women competed in the Virginia Division III meet hosted by Bridgewater College Saturday, Oct. 13. "I am very proud of my team’s performance at this meet," said Head Coach Matthew Puryear. Freshmen Marlins Jeffrey Magner and Greg Jackson assisted the VWC men to a spectacular showing, placing 16th and 18th among 81 runners. Magner finished first for the Marlin team for the fifth consecutive race, crossing the finish line at 28:29. Jackson was close behind clocking in at 28:41. Freshman Dave Scott cut four seconds off his 5 mile time for a 33:26 finish. Placing 62nd, Scott assisted the Marlin men to a seventh place finish among twelve colleges and universities competing for the team title. Sophomore Kristen Schwenk led the Marlin women with a 27th place finish. She ran her best time this year for the 3.1 mile run by nine seconds coming in at 22:12.

At home for only the second time this season, the Marlins competed against Division I schools for the Spartan Invitational Saturday, Oct. 6. The Marlins’ competitors included Howard University, Elizabeth City State College, and Delaware State University. "Overall I am very impressed with our team performance," said Coach Puryear. "They did extremely well against scholarship Division I athletes." The Marlin men placed fourth among five teams while the women placed third among four teams. Seven Marlins ran their best times of the season, led by freshman John Cohoon. Clocking in at 32:04, Cohoon shed seventy seconds off of his previous time. "Hopefully, it has prepared them for the ODAC conference," said Coach Puryear. Striving for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory, the Marlins compete for the ODAC Championship Saturday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. here at VWC. "They deserve a great crowd," said Coach Puryear.