LEXINGTON, Va. – As the two teams seemingly always do, the Washington and Lee and 25th-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer teams played right down to the final buzzer on Saturday, but the Captains prevailed, 2-1, on Watt Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Captains (10-2-2) took an initial 1-0 lead in the 16th minute following a throw-in near midfield. The throw came into Elton Quintanilla who turned, took one touch, and found Caleb Jones on a through ball on the left side. Jones took control after a hesitation touch, before racing into the box on the left side. With W&L (9-3-4) defender
Will Luik draped all over him, Jones hit a left-footed shot which pinged off the right post and into the back of the net, just beyond the outstretched arm of goalkeeper
Will Joseph.
CNU held the slight shot advantage at halftime, 5-4, but the Generals came out aggressive as could be to start the second half, as they got the ball into the box and drew a foul and a penalty kick just 16 seconds in. Junior
Asa Tuke stepped up to take the shot and scored to the right side of the frame.
The Captains regained the lead, however, in the 64th minute off the foot of Jason LaViola. CNU brought the ball into the box on the left side and tried a centering pass that was blocked by W&L's
PJ Ryan. Barry Jones moved under the ball and was able to touch the ball onto LaViola who put his shot just inside the right post for the 2-1 lead.
Both teams came up with massive team saves in the second half to keep everyone on their toes. Just a minute and a half before CNU regained a lead,
Weyimi Agbeyegbe sought to put the Generals ahead when he got in behind the Captains' defense and one-on-one with CNU keeper Hayden Dewey. Agbeyegbe made a move around Dewey, and put a left-footed shot on goal, but the CNU defense cleared the ball away just before it crossed for the score.
In the closing seconds, Joseph ran up-field and into the CNU box for extra reinforcements on a set piece. The Captains managed to gain control and got Matt Liss the ball heading back towards the W&L goal. He let a shot go from close to midfield, but Luik chased it down and kicked it away to keep the game at a 2-1 deficit before one final rush to equalize. Liss's attempt proved to be the final shot of the game, though, as the CNU defense held on for the win with one final clearance down field as the buzzer sounded.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Tuke's goal for the Generals was his first of the year and third of his career. Senior
Grant McCarty led the W&L offense with four shot attempts, with Tuke and five other players each tallying one shot. Joseph made three saves in goal, and prevented any potential rebound shot opportunities as he smothered the ball on each stop.
Jones and LaViola each scored once and combined for five shots in the game, while Barry Jones picked up an assist on the go-ahead goal in the 64th minute. Of their five combined shots, LaViola took three to lead the CNU attack. Dewey made one save across the 90 minutes of action, plus his team's save in the 63rd minute.
TEAM STATS:
W&L held the final edge in shots over the Captains, 10-8, after a 6-3 margin came in the second half. Both teams took four corner kicks across the 90 minutes of play.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to the home pitch on Wednesday when they host Lynchburg at 7:00 pm in the regular season finale. The game against the Hornets will likely have ODAC Tournament seeding implications, as the Generals held a three-point lead over Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan for the No. 1 seed entering Saturday's games.
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.
