LEXINGTON, Va. – The No. 1 ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team battled Roanoke to a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Wednesday evening to extend its unbeaten streak to 13 games.
The draw snapped the Generals' 11-game winning streak, as the team now sits at 11-0-2 overall and 6-0-1 in the ODAC. However, the 13-game unbeaten streak to start the season marks a program record, and it is the third longest unbeaten streak in program history. The Maroons move to 7-3-5 overall and 2-1-4 in the ODAC.
Despite trailing by a 1-0 score through 73 minutes of play, W&L controlled possession and the offensive chances on the night. With 16:16 remaining in regulation, the Generals netted the equalizing goal when junior midfielder
Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe/Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) fired a shot from the top of the 18. His shot ricocheted off the right boot of sophomore forward
Adrian Zimmerman (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and rolled into the goal, just inside the right post.
The Generals continued to possess the ball from then on, and even outshot Roanoke by a 7-1 margin in the overtime periods. Zimmerman got the final shot from just to the right of the penalty spot, attempting a bicycle-kick shot that went wide to the right.
The Maroons scored their goal in the 11th minute on a shot from long range by senior forward Liam Camilleri, after senior forward Anthony Zarlenga headed the ball on into space for Camilleri's shot. Less than two minutes later, the Generals were awarded a penalty kick, but senior Zach Behe stopped the shot as he dove to the bottom-left corner of the frame to preserve the one-goal lead.
Kutsanzira and Zimmerman paced the offense with 11 shots and eight shots, respectively, with a combined five attempts on goal. With his assist, Kutsanzira now has nine this season which not only leads the ODAC, but it is also tied with Jon Wilson '00 and Mike Mitchem '92 for the second-most assists in a season in program history.
Junior goalkeeper
Rye McMillen (Fairfax, Va./The Heights School) (4-0-1) played all 110 minutes in net and allowed one goal. The W&L defense performed strongly, allowing just two off-target shots over the final 65 minutes of the game.
Camilleri led the Maroons with three shots on offense, while Behe (7-3-5) made 10 saves over the 110 minutes of play.
W&L outshot Roanoke, 33-5, in the game and held a 24-2 advantage in attempts after the first half. Corner kicks favored the Generals, 6-1.
The Generals will return to the pitch on Saturday when they host Randolph-Macon at 1:00 pm in the final home game of the regular season. Prior to kick-off, the Generals will honor the senior class.
