BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Sophomore
Alec Perez secured his first career hat trick, while classmate
Buster Couhig accounted for four goals, as the Washington and Lee men's soccer team throttled Bridgewater, 9-0, behind an eight-goal second half on Wednesday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Things took off in favor of the Blue and White (9-2-4, 7-1-1 ODAC) after halftime, as the team scored four goals in a 15-minute span. Junior
Asa Tuke started the onslaught in the 51st minute when he played a cross from inside the box towards the back post, where the ball found its way into the net following a deflection from the defense.
Perez then scored in the 62nd and 66th minutes, with a goal from senior
Grant McCarty sandwiched in between. McCarty logged another goal in the 74th minute before Perez finished off his hat trick in the 87th minute. Not content with the seven-goal difference, the Generals kept attacking and got first-year
Nick Apostolou and Couhig on the scoreboard as well in the 88th and 90th minutes, respectively.
The Generals' first goal came in the 23rd minute off the left boot of sophomore
Matteo Adler, who controlled an attempted clear by the defense and shot through traffic into the top-right corner of the frame. The Eagles (6-3-5, 2-3-2 ODAC) hardly threatened the W&L goal in the first half, as their first and only shot of the opening frame came with just three minutes to go, before they added two shots in the second half.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Couhig finished the game a goal and three assists, as he helped out on McCarty's first goal, Perez's second and Apostolou's score late in the second half. Couhig's three-assist effort tied the program record for most assists in a game, and he now has four goals this season.
McCarty (two goals), junior
Lucas Pleasants (two assists) and first-year
Dmitri Tulloch (two assists) rounded out the W&L players to account for multiple goals. Senior
Evan DiPaula and junior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe also added one assist each to complete the point scorers on the day.
In goal, sophomore
Will Joseph started and made one save across the first 79:16, before giving way to junior
Matt Semcesen for the final 10:44. Semcesen did not face a shot on goal as the W&L backline helped secure the team shutout.
The Bridgewater goalkeepers combined for 12 saves on the day. Charles Schweinefuss stopped eight shots and allowed five goals in 71:58 of action, before RJ Mackey surrendered four goals on eight shots in the final 18:02.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Couhig became the eighth player in program history to dish out three assists in a game. It was most recently accomplished by
Michael Kutsanzira '23 in last season's ODAC semifinals against Virginia Wesleyan. Couhig is also the first General since Kutsanzira on that same day to account for four goals in a single game.
The Generals finished off the win with nine assists on their nine goals, which is the most in a single-game since the program's all-time highest scoring game and largest win in program history, an 11-0 result against Bluefield College on September 14, 2006.
Perez's hat trick makes him the third different General to log three goals in a game this season, all of which have come during the month of October. Agbeyegbe had the first on October 1 at Averett, followed by McCarty last Wednesday against Guilford. Prior to McCarty's three-score game, the W&L men's soccer program had not seen multiple players record a hat trick within the same season since at least the 2002 campaign.
TEAM STATS:
W&L concluded the day with a final 39-3 margin in total shots, which came by a 19-1 count in the first half and a 20-2 advantage in the second. The Blue and White earned 13 corner kicks and conceded two.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will step out of conference play for the final time this regular season on Saturday when they host No. 25 Christopher Newport at 1:00 pm. Senior Day recognitions will precede the contest for W&L's five-player Class of 2024.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
