LEXINGTON, Va. – The 10th-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team came away with a scoreless draw on Wednesday evening at home against Virginia Wesleyan, extending its unbeaten streak to 12 straight games in the process.
The Generals (8-1-4, 4-0-2 ODAC) peppered Virginia Wesleyan (7-3-4, 2-1-3 ODAC) goalkeeper Griffin Potter with shots on goal throughout the second half, and had arguably their best chance at denting the scoreboard in the 66th minute following a clear from a Marlins throw-in.
With the ball just outside his own 18-yard box, senior midfielder
Samuel Bass (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park) played the ball up the left side for first-year midfielder
Matteo Adler (Cobham, England / ACS Cobham International). Adler sent a touch up to senior forward
Harry Barringer (Greenwich, Conn. / Brunswick School), who played it right back to Adler making a run up the left side. In a two-on-three opportunity, Adler was able to find junior midfielder
Park Bruner (Atlanta, Ga. / Atlanta International) on the right side of the field, inside the VWU 18 and behind the defense.
Bruner timed his strides and fired from just outside the Marlins six-yard box, but Potter, who had come out to cut down the angle, got enough of the ball to slow it down, and he then jumped on the ball before it could cross the goal line.
W&L also had two shots stopped right on the goal line in the game. The first came in the 16th minute when junior midfielder
Grant McCarty (Dallas, Texas / Parish Episcopal) tapped a shot forward from inside the six-yard box. However, a VWU defender jumped in and kicked the ball away before it crossed. The other instance came in the 63rd minute when a Bruner cross met the left foot of Adler inside the six. But, just as he would do four minutes later, Potter got enough of the ball to slow it down, reached back and grabbed the ball before it crossed.
Adler and Bass tied with senior midfielder
Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) and sophomore midfielder
Weyimi Agbeyegbe (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster) for the game high with three shots each. Bruner, Agbeyegbe and Adler all finished with two shots on goal each, while nine different Generals tallied a shot on the night.
In goal, first-year
Will Joseph (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) (8-0-4) recorded his second straight clean sheet with a pair of saves, with both stops coming in the second half to keep the Marlins off the board. Joseph now has five shutouts on the season, and he has not allowed a goal over his last 209:12 in goal.
Juan Tovar took a Virginia Wesleyan-high two shots in the game and put one attempt on goal. Noah McBride was responsible for the other on-target attempt for the Marlins, which was saved by Joseph in the 79th minute. Potter (7-3-4) finished the game with seven saves to keep W&L off the board, all of which came in the second half.
W&L finished with a 19-7 advantage in total shots, with an 8-2 edge in the first half and 11-5 in the second half. Corner kicks also favored the Blue and White by a 6-1 count.
The Generals will return to the pitch on Saturday when they host ODAC-newcomer Averett in a 1:00 pm Senior Day contest.
