HANOVER, Ind. – Junior midfielder John Peterson (Towson, Md./Loyola Blakefield) scored a pair of goals to lead the third-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team to a 2-0 win at Hanover on Friday afternoon.
 
With the win, the Generals improve to 4-0-1 overall this season, while the Panthers fall to 3-2-1 overall with the loss.
 
The game remained scoreless through nearly the first 30 minutes of the match, but Peterson struck for W&L in 29th minute after he finished off a feed from junior midfielder Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe/Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)). Senior goalkeeper Michael Nyc (Kildeer, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) made a pair of saves in the opening half to keep Hanover off the board.
 
Though the game remained at a 1-0 score for a majority of the rest of the game, the W&L defense allowed just one shot on goal in the second half, which was stopped by Nyc. Peterson doubled the Generals' lead with 49 seconds left when junior midfielder Samuel Bass (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) made a move around the Hanover keeper coming off his line and left the ball for Peterson to finish in front of an open net.
 
Nyc and Hanover sophomore keeper Luciano Salemi (3-2-1) each made three saves in the game. With his three saves, Nyc posted his second shutout of the season and the 24th of his career to extend his program record.
 
Peterson's two goals were his second and third tallies of the season, as three goals now lead the team. Kutsanzira logged his team-best third assist on Peterson's first goal, while Bass's assist on the second goal was his second of the season, second-most on the team.
 
W&L earned six corner kicks in the game, including four in the first half, and conceded just two to the Panthers.
 
The Generals will return to action on Sunday when they travel to Danville, Ky., to take on Centre in a 3:00 pm contest.