LEXINGTON, Va. – Three-first half goals, including a Gettysburg own goal, helped the Washington and Lee women's soccer team move past the Bullets, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon.
The Generals (2-0-2) struck first in the 14th minute off the left foot of senior forward
Lindsay White (Greenville, S.C. / JL Mann). White controlled the ball on the edge of the right side of the box and made her way to the top and center of the 18. With no defender around, White had enough room for a left-footed shot, and she deposited her attempt into the top-left corner of the goal.
Less than five minutes later, sophomore defender
Emily Sansbury (Cornelius, N.C. / Christ the King Catholic) created another scoring opportunity from the left side. Sansbury sent a cross in that just missed a leaning header attempt from senior midfielder
Grace Wielechowski (Cornelius, N.C. / Christ the King Catholic). First-year midfielder
Helen Otteni (Arlington, Va. / The Potomac School), who was cutting in behind Wielechowski, settled and scored to the top-right corner of the frame.
The Bullets (1-2-1) got back within a goal in the 22nd minute when sophomore forward Jalia Musah got behind the W&L defense and beat junior keeper
Sydney Smith (Damascus, Md. / Damascus) on a breakaway. In the 33rd minute, sophomore forward
Sam Berish (Doylestown, Pa. / Gwynedd Mercy Academy) was inside the 18, and she sent a cross to the right side. However, the ball deflected off a Gettysburg defender and into the net for an own goal.
W&L put its final goal on the board in the 56th minute, when a
Liz Sullivan (Blauvelt, N.Y. / Tappen Zee) throw-in led directly to a left-footed goal by first-year midfielder
Sarah Zimmerman (Cincinnati, Ohio / Cincinnati Country Day).
White's goal in the 14th minute was her second this season, while Otteni and Zimmerman each scored their first collegiate goals. Sansbury's assist on Otteni's goal and Sullivan's assist on Zimmerman's goal were the second helpers of the season for both players. Otteni, White and Zimmerman also led the W&L offense with two shots each.
In goal, Smith (2-0-2) earned the win after playing the first 73:21. First-year
Abby Groff (Blacklick, Ohio / Saint Francis DeSales) saw her first collegiate action, covering the final 16:39 and did not see a shot on goal.
For the Bullets, Musah and first-year forward Abby Giunta logged a team-high two shots each, with Musah recording the team's only shot on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Sammy Grayson (1-2-1) played all 90 minutes and made four saves, all of which came in the first half.
W&L edged Gettysburg in total shots, 11-10, with an 8-1 advantage in the first half. The Blue and White also held a slight 5-4 margin in corner kicks.
The Generals will return to the pitch on September 17 when they kick-off a four-game road stretch with a 1:00 pm start at Covenant.
