HAVERFORD, Pa. – Two goals over the final 11 minutes of the game helped the Washington and Lee women's soccer team complete a dramatic 4-3, come-from-behind win over Arcadia on Sunday afternoon to close out the Haverford College Kick-off Classic.
The Generals (1-0-1) trailed by a 3-2 score as late as the 80th minute of the contest. On an attack, W&L tied things back up with 10:45 to play when senior defender
Brenna Wehner (Crosswicks, N.J. / The Hun School of Princeton) got a cross off from the right side to senior midfielder
Grace Wielechowski (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Catholic) in the middle of the box. From inside the six, Wielechowski stuck out her left leg and redirected the ball past the keeper for the equalizer.
With just 2:43 left in the contest, the Generals played a corner kick short from the left side. First-year
Bryn Bissinger (Greenville, S.C / St. Joseph's Catholic) then sent a cross into the box where first-year
Sydney Devory (Ruckersville, Va. / William Monroe) scored the go-ahead goal from close range.
The game remained scoreless through over 25 minutes of the first half, but then the Knights scored a pair of goals just 82 seconds apart. The first came unassisted from Abby Stephens, while the second was scored by Taylor Gubler off an assist from Caroline Weirich.
W&L responsed quickly, however, as senior forward
Lindsay White (Greenville, S.C. / JL Mann) put the team on the board in the 31st minute on a penalty kick. The Generals then equalized with 4:22 remaining in the first half when a Bissinger free kick just outside the box and on the left side found Wehner on the far post for the score.
Bissinger and Wehner led the attack for the Blue and White, accounting for two goals each. Wehner's three points (one goal, one assist) marked a new career high, while Bissinger tallied the first two assists of her collegiate career. Wielechowski and White finished with one goal and two shots each, and Devory scored her first career goal. First-year
Helen Otteni (Arlington, Va. / The Potomac School) tallied a game-high five shot attempts.
In goal, junior
Sydney Smith (Damascus, Md. / Damascus) (1-0-1) played the duration of the game and she made four saves to earn the win.
For the Knights, Gubler, Stephens and Emily Di Silverio each scored once and combined for four shots. Weirich finished with an assist and two shots, while Riley Ratcliffe rounded out the three Arcadia players with multiple shot attempts. Abigail Fuchs started in goal and made six saves over the course of the first half. Jordan Polen (0-2) played the second half, but took the loss after she stopped three shots.
Shots favored the Generals by a 19-11 count in the game, including a 13-6 W&L edge in the first half. W&L also took six corner kicks and conceded none.
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they host Franklin and Marshall in their home opener at 1:00 pm.
