LEXINGTON, Va. – Two goals inside the first 18 minutes of play were enough to propel the No. 6/15 Washington and Lee women's soccer team to a 10th consecutive win, 2-0, over Bridgewater on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals' (10-1, 5-0 ODAC) offense surged out of the gates with seven total shot attempts in the first nine minutes of play. At the 8:57 mark of the opening frame, sophomore
Emily Burke took a shot that was saved by Bridgewater (3-6-4, 0-3-2 ODAC) keeper Rylee Asiello, but junior
Sarah Zimmerman came flying in for the rebound, and she gave her side a 1-0 lead.
Nine minutes later, senior
Ann Riley Huber gave the Generals a 2-0 lead when she scored from near the edge of the box on the right side on a shot that made its way into the top-left corner of the goal. W&L moved the ball up the field with concise passing on the preceding sequence, with Zimmerman passing off to Burke, who then left the ball for Huber's shot.
With W&L's offense possessing at such a high rate to start the game, it took the Eagles' offense nine and half minutes to hold possession of the ball in their attacking third. Between strong play from the Generals' backline and 25 first-half shot attempts from the offense, Bridgewater managed only two shots in the first half, neither of which were on target.
In a scoreless second half, the Generals outshot their opponents by a 9-4 margin. The Eagles put their first shot on goal of the game in the 68th minute, followed by one in the 75th minute and their final in the 87th minute. On their third shot on goal, Aliana Ferreira laced a ball towards the goal, but W&L junior keeper
Abby Groff stopped the ball right on the goal line at the near post to keep Bridgewater off the board.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Zimmerman's go-ahead goal in the ninth minute was her fifth of the season to tie her sister, Megan, atop the team leaderboard. Huber's goal was her third of the season, while
Sarah Zimmerman notched her fifth assist of the season. Burke tallied assists on both goals to reach four on the year, and Groff ended the night with three saves to claim her fifth clean sheet of the season.
Other offensive leaders for the Blue and White included junior
Sophie Berman at 10 shot attempts, followed by
Sarah Zimmerman at five and Huber and first-year
Megan Zimmerman with four each.
Lyric Birkley was the only Bridgewater player to attempt multiple shots in the game (2), and she put both attempts on goal. Asiello played all 90 minutes in goal for the Eagles and made six saves.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals' 10th consecutive win on Wednesday marks the first double-digit win streak for the program since the 2021 spring season began 10-0. It is also tied for the second longest winning streak in program history, with the 2019 team holding the record at 11 straight.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Generals ranked 18th in Division III in goals-against average at 0.400, with that number improving to 0.364 after Wednesday's shutout.
TEAM STATS:
The final shot totals favored the Generals by a 34-6 margin, the third-most shots taken in a game by the Blue and White this season. Corner kicks were even, 1-1, at the half, and finished at a 4-1 W&L advantage.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Sweet Briar for a 12:00 p.m. opening kick against the Vixens.
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.
