ATLANTA – The 11th-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Oglethorpe in Friday's 2023 season opener at Emory University.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After nearly 58 minutes of scoreless soccer, Oglethorpe (1-0) sent a long ball up the field from its defensive end that got behind the W&L (0-1) defense. W&L junior
Asa Tuke disrupted the play by catching up to the Oglethorpe forward, but the Stormy Petrels maintained possession. The ball was then flipped back to Ben Alram on the right side of the box and just inside the 18, and he fired a right-footed shot across the box that ricocheted off the left post and into the back of the net.
The Generals had their chances after that to equalize, including a
Grant McCarty bullet of a free kick from 35 yards out that took a diving effort from first-year Nicolas Mejia in the Oglethorpe goal to prevent the score. Junior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe then had a chance on a header in the 81st minute, which went high, followed by a hard, close-range shot from sophomore
Buster Couhig one minute later that Mejia stopped in the low, center of the frame.
W&L had an early opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the first half, when the team was awarded a penalty kick following a foul in the box. Agbeyegbe was chosen to take the shot, but his attempt sailed wide.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Despite the loss, W&L sophomore goalkeeper
Will Joseph (0-1) saved numerous shots to keep the Generals in the game. All told, Joseph finished the day with seven saves, three of which came across the final four minutes of the game and required diving efforts.
On the offensive end for the Blue and White, Agbeyegbe, junior
Lucas Pleasants and sophomore
Matteo Adler all took two shots, with Adler sending one attempt on goal.
Alram was the offensive leader for the Stormy Petrels, as his goal came on one of eight total attempts and five on goal on the afternoon. Junior JR Cozine came in next on the team with five shots and one on goal. Mejia (1-0) earned the win in goal for Oglethorpe, and he made six saves to record the clean sheet.
TEAM STATS:
Oglethorpe finished the day with an overall 18-14 advantage in total shots, but the Generals claimed a majority of the chances in the second half at 11-8. The Stormy Petrels also edged the Blue and White in corner kicks, 5-4, with each team taking three in the second half.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Sonny Carter Invitational hosts Emory at 5:00 p.m.
