LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's soccer team came away with a scoreless draw against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon in its first home contest of the 2022 season.
The Generals (1-0-2) claimed the two of the first three shots of the game when sophomore defender
Emily Sansbury (Cornelius, N.C. / Christ the King Catholic) took aim in the fifth minute and senior midfielder
Grace Wielechowski (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Catholic) got an attempt off in the 10th minute. Both shots went on goal, but were saved by F&M (3-0-1) junior keeper Emma Nolan.
W&L junior goalkeeper
Sydney Smith (Damascus, Md. / Damascus) saw the next two shots of the game in the 24th and 25th minutes. The first was from F&M first-year defender Amanda Imhauser, who took a shot from distance that Smith stopped, hopping to make the catch just under the crossbar.
The second, however, came off the foot of junior forward Sierra Brophy, who got in behind the W&L defense and had a good look at a right-footed attempt inside the box. Smith had come out to cut the angle of the shot, and she made a quick diving stop to her right to keep the Diplomats off the board.
F&M had another look at a scoring chance with time winding down in the first half with three shots in succession, all from inside the 18. Sophomore midfielder Sophie Koziol claimed two of the attempts, with her first getting saved by Smith, and Sansbury then coming in and clearing the ball off the line. Junior defender Mikaela Timmermans then had a shot blocked, before Koziol sent another attempt wide-right of the frame.
The Generals had the most dangerous opportunity of the second half, as an attempt from the left side from first-year midfielder
Bryn Bissinger (Greenville, S.C. / St. Joseph's Catholic) got past Nolan in goal, but was headed away by the defense just before crossing the goal line for the score.
Both defenses did well to eliminate offensive chances for the opposition in the second half, as there were only seven total attempts by both teams compared to 13 combined in the first half. Both keepers were required to make just one save in the second half.
W&L sophomore defender
Ann Riley Huber (Atlanta, Ga. / Holy Innocents' Episcopal) finished with a game-high three shot attempts, while six other Generals took one shot each. Smith (1-0-2) made four saves to post her second shutout in the team's third game this season.
The Diplomats, who were receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason Top 25 poll, were led on offense by Brophy and Koziol, who both attempted two shots and each put a shot on goal. Seven other F&M players took one shot in the game, and Nolan (3-0-1) made a pair of saves in the contest.
Shots favored the Diplomats by an 11-9 count on the day, which included an 8-5 first-half advantage. F&M also edged out the Blue and White in corner kicks, 6-5, with both teams taking four in the second half.
The Generals will return to play on Sunday when they host Gettysburg at 1:00 p.m.
