LEXINGTON, Va. – The 13th-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team improved to 4-0 in the ODAC and ran its unbeaten streak to nine games with a 3-1 victory over Hampden-Sydney on Saturday afternoon.
The Generals (8-1-1) got the scoring started in the 19th minute on a corner kick opportunity. Senior midfielder
Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) sent the cross in from the right corner, and it was headed up in the air by the HSC (5-3-2, 0-2-1 ODAC) defense. Sophomore defender
PJ Ryan (Morristown, N.J. / West Morris Mendham) settled under the lofted ball, and flicked a header to the right post, which got past the keeper after finding its way through traffic from close range.
W&L's second goal came in the 51st minute on a score from sophomore midfielder
Weyimi Agbeyegbe (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster). With the Generals possessing the ball at midfield, first-year defender
Willy Hall (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's) sent a long pass up the field towards Kutsanzira. Needing just one touch, Kutsanzira passed from the 18 to Agbeyegbe cutting in behind the defense. Agbeyegbe also needed just one touch to finish the chance and give the Generals a 2-0 lead.
Kutsanzira added his second assist of the game in the 70th minute on the team's final score. Dribbling up from midfield, and in the center of the field, Kutsanzira passed to the left side where first-year midfielder
Matteo Adler (Cobham, England / ACS Cobham International) picked up the ball just outside the 18. Adler took one touch inside the box and then used his left foot to score inside the right post.
The Generals then conceded in the 90th minute with under 10 seconds to play, when Stefan Ngoh found Michael Ogenyi on the left post for the Tigers' lone goal.
Kutsanzira's two assists were his second and third of the season, tying for the second most on the team, while Agbeyegbe scored his team-high seventh goal of the year. Ryan's goal in the 19th minute was his second this season, both of which have come in the last three games, and Adler picked up his fourth goal of the season.
With his two assists, Kutsanzira moved up the program's career assists leaderboard, and he is now tied with Jon Wilson '01 (18) for fifth most in program history.
The W&L defense held the Tigers to just three shots in the game and two on goal. Ogenyi scored on his only shot of the game, while Josiah King saw his lone attempt saved by W&L first-year keeper
Will Joseph (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) (8-0-1). Boyce Purdie was responsible for the team's final shot. In net, Connor Kitson (5-3-2) played all 90 minutes and made seven saves.
W&L took 13 shots in both halves to finish with a 26-2 advantage in total attempts, with an 11-2 margin in shots on goal. Corner kicks also favored the Blue and White, 10-7.
The Generals will return to action on Wednesday when they take on Lynchburg in a 7:00 pm ODAC showdown.
