NEWARK, N.J. – A goal in the 80th minute from the third-ranked Tartans of Carnegie Mellon was the deciding factor, as the Washington and Lee women's soccer team saw its 2023 season come to an end, 1-0, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game held scoreless for over 79 minutes of play, despite a total of 23 shot attempts in the game. In the 80th minute, CMU's (12-0-6) Vivian Wang put the Tartans out in front with a right-footed flick of the ball past W&L's (13-4-4)
Sydney Smith.
The final 10:55 saw just two shots, one from each side. The Tartans came back down the field after the goal for an Audrey Bianco shot on target in the 82nd minute, which Smith stopped, before sophomore
Sarah Zimmerman took aim in the 87th minute but missed high. Both defensive units played much more strongly in the second half as the Generals allowed just two shots on goal to none allowed by CMU.
W&L senior
Cameron Grainger nearly gave the Generals a lead just 1:35 into the second half when she found enough space on the right side for a shot outside the box. Her looping attempt came down and bounced off the crossbar, however, and was cleared from danger.
One of Smith's five first half saves came in the 20th minute on a shot from in close that nearly crossed the goal line. In a heavy jumble of Generals and Tartans, Smith managed to react quickly enough to swat the ball off the line.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Smith finished the game with seven stops in the 90 minutes of play, while CMU keeper Abby O'Connor made two saves to record the clean sheet.
On the offensive end, Grainger took three shots to lead W&L. Sophomores
Helen Otteni and
Sydney Devory each put one shot on goal for the Blue and White, with Jenna Hallbeck and Breana Valentovish finding the target twice each for the Tartans.
TEAM STATS:
Carnegie Mellon finished the game with a 17-9 margin in total shots, but attempts were nearly equal in the second half (7-6 CMU). Six corner kicks were taken in the contest, four from the Tartans.
END OF SEASON NOTES:
The Generals faced two teams this season ranked in the Top 3 at the time of the matchup and, despite going 0-1-1 in those games, allowed just one goal across the 180 minutes. The other result was a scoreless draw against then-No. 2 Christopher Newport on October 1.
Smith finishes her career with 17 shutouts and a 0.73 goals-against average across 3,508:09. The 17 clean sheets place her in seventh place in program history, while her GAA is good for sixth best in program annals.
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.
