LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's soccer team battled Mary Washington and to a scoreless draw at home on a rainy Saturday afternoon to wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule.
The Generals move to 6-0-3 overall on the season, while the Eagles move to 5-2-3 overall with the result.
Both teams had their share of opportunities in the game, as Mary Washington held a 12-9 advantage in total attempts. However, both sides managed just two shots on goal each. The first came in the 17th minute on a long-range attempt by senior forward Amanda Krest. Her shot came from 25 yards out on the right side and was heading towards the top-right corner of the goal, before junior goalkeeper
Sydney Smith (Damascus, Md. / Damascus) leaped and batted the ball away.
The Eagles' final shot on goal came 19 minutes later on an attempt by Riley Boyd. Boyd found room inside the box for a right-footed attempt, and sent her shot to the center of the frame just below the crossbar, but Smith was up to the task again, leaping for the stop to force a corner kick.
The Generals owned both shots on goal in the second half, with the first coming off the head of junior defender
Cameron Grainger (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Country Day). First-year midfielder
Sophie Berman (Robbinsville, N.J. / Robbinsville) saw Grainger in the middle of the box and sent a cross in from the left side, where Grainger headed the ball to the low-left corner of the goal. Senior keeper Ally Holden displayed quick reflexes, however, and stopped the ball before it crossed the goal line.
W&L's final shot on goal came in the 78th minute from sophomore midfielder
Ann Riley Huber (Atlanta, Ga. / Holy Innocents' Episcopal). Senior defender
Brenna Wehner (Crosswicks, N.J. / The Hun School of Princeton) sent a pass towards Huber from midfield, where Huber used slick footwork to put the ball past a defender and give herself room for a shot. Huber took one touch inside the 18 and fired with her left foot, but Holden dove to her left for the save.
The Eagles outshot the Generals, 4-1, over the final 10 minutes of the game, but each of UMW's attempts went wide of the target.
First-year midfielder
Sarah Zimmerman (Cincinnati, Ohio / Cincinnati Country Day) led the W&L offense with three shots on the day, while first-year midfielder
Sydney Devory (Ruckersville, Va. / William Monroe) tallied two attempts. Smith (6-0-3) played all 90 minutes and made a pair of saves.
For the Eagles, Kaitlyn Venzen notched a game-high six shot attempts, but none finished on target. Holden played the entirety of the game and matched Smith with two saves.
W&L outshot UMW, 5-4, in the first half, but the Eagles held the second-half margin, 8-4. Corner kicks favored the Blue and White, 8-5.
The Generals will return to the field on Wednesday when they host Randolph-Macon at 6:30 pm in their second ODAC contest of the season.
