WINCHESTER, Va. – The 20th-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team left the campus of Shenandoah University on Wednesday night with a 1-1 draw against the Hornets, increasing their undefeated streak to nine games.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both sides were finding holes in the respective defenses early in the game, enough for three shot attempts apiece across the first 17 minutes, with one save each for each goalkeeper.
In the 19th minute, the W&L (8-3-2, 4-0-2 ODAC) offense struck quickly when sophomore
Dmitri Tulloch sent a pass from the defensive third nearly 45 yards up-field on a line and right on the right boot of sophomore
Matthew Jenkins. After his first touch to control the ball, Jenkins laid a pass off to the right where junior
Buster Couhig was left unmarked. With the Shenandoah keeper well off his line, Couhig scored from the top of the 18 into a wide-open net.
The Generals carried their 1-0 lead into the second half, but the Hornets (8-5-2, 3-2-1 ODAC) equalized just 70 seconds into the new frame on a penalty kick from Nathan Yared. In the play leading up, Jarbin Rodriguez tried working around junior
Willy Hall in the box, and Rodriguez drew a foul as he sent in a centering pass. Yared then shot to the left post and just over the reach of W&L junior goalkeeper
Will Joseph.
Later in the second half, Joseph made three additional saves to prevent the Hornets from moving ahead, with his stops coming in the 55th, 60th and 66th minutes. On the other end of the field, Shenandoah goalkeeper Nathan Lynch matched Joseph's three second-half saves against senior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe in the 51st minute, sophomore
Taha Kaba in the 74th minute and Tulloch in the 84th minute.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Couhig's goal in the 19th minute was his fourth of the year, tied with Tulloch and senior
Lucas Pleasants for second on the team. Tulloch and Jenkins both picked up an assist each on the goal, with Tulloch tying Agbeyegbe for the team lead and Jenkins getting his second of the season. Joseph made a season-high six saves in goal across the 90 minutes of play, his third game of the season with at least five.
Yared's goal for the Hornets was his ninth of the season, and he took three shots on the night. Kyle Welch took a game-high four attempts and Chinedu Ikem matched Yared's three. Lynch played all 90 minutes in the SU goal and also made six saves.
TEAM STATS:
The Hornets edged the Generals in shot attempts on the night by a final tally of 12-9. Both teams took six shots in the first half, followed by a 6-3 Shenandoah advantage in the second half. Corner kicks favored the Blue and White by a 7-5 margin, as the Generals took one more corner in both halves than the hosts.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will head to the University of Lynchburg on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. start in their next game.
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.
