ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The third-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team used a five-goal second half to power past N.C. Wesleyan by a 7-2 final on the road on Tuesday.
Leading by a 2-1 score going into the second half, senior midfielder
Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) scored on a penalty kick in the 49th minute to extend the lead to two goals. Less than eight minutes later, sophomore midfielder
Weyimi Agbeyegbe (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster) tallied his second goal of the game off a feed from first-year midfielder
Matteo Adler (Cobham, England / ACS Cobham International). Senior midfielder
Samuel Bass (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park) then quickly pushed the game to a 5-1 margin with a penalty-kick goal of his own in the 60th minute.
Kutsanzira scored again in the 66th minute to run the W&L (2-1) lead to 6-1. The Battling Bishops (1-2) put their second goal of the game on the board in the 86th minute, courtesy of first-year forward Justo Esponda. However, just 19 seconds later, first-year midfielder
Aaron Gonzalez Sobrino (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain / Williston Northampton School (Mass.)) scored on a penalty kick to yield the final total.
Junior defender
Park Bruner (Atlanta, Ga. / Atlanta International) had a hand in both of W&L's first-half goals, as he assisted Agbeyegbe in the 10th minute, before scoring off an assist from Adler in the 17th minute. N.C. Wesleyan then cut its deficit to just one goal in the 33rd minute when sophomore midfielder Tomas Illario scored on a penalty kick.
Adler, Agbeyegbe, Bruner and Kutsanzira all contributed to two goals each, with Agbeyegbe and Kutsanzira tallying four points (two goals) apiece. Adler took three shots in the game and finished with two assists, while Bruner's three points (one goal, one assist) went along with one shot in the contest.
Bass's goal in the 60th minute was his first of the year, and Gonzalez Sobrino's score was the first of his collegiate career. In goal, first-year
Will Joseph (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) (2-0) earned his second straight win with a pair of saves across the first 67:41. Senior keeper
Rye McMillen (Fairfax, Va. / The Heights School) came on in the second half to play the final 22:19.
Esponda's and Illario's goals came on their only shot attempts for N.C. Wesleyan. First-year forward Leho Louarn led the offense with three shots and two attempts on goal, while sophomore goalkeeper Fred Rogers (1-2) made seven saves in goal on the day.
Shots were even at 5-5 through the first half, but the Generals went on to outshoot the Battling Bishops, 13-3, in the second half to hold an 18-8 advantage in the game. Corner kicks also favored the Blue and White, 6-2.
The Generals will return home on Saturday for their first of four straight home games. They will play host to Sewanee with a 5:00 p.m. kick-off.
