LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's soccer team overcame a two-goal deficit on Wednesday night, with an equalizer coming from senior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe in the 89th minute, to save a point in a heart-pounding 2-2 finish against Roanoke.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After the Maroons (7-2-5, 4-2-2 ODAC) went up by a 2-0 score on a penalty kick goal from Quinn Kunath in the 63rd minute, Agbeyegbe was the culprit of W&L's (8-3-4, 4-0-4 ODAC) first goal less than three minutes later. Sophomore
Taha Kaba sent a cross to the right ride of the box, where sophomore
Matthew Jenkins volleyed the ball back into the center of the 18. With his back to goal, Agbeyegbe got under the ball, whipped into a bicycle kick attempt, and connected on a score to the low-left corner of the frame.
From the 66th minute to the 87th, the Generals commanded possession of the ball, and got eight shot attempts off while allowing just one. W&L nearly found the tying goal in the 88th minute when a ball that was passed into the box got deflected goalward, but was kicked off the line by a defender before the Generals were called for offsides. Sixty seconds later, senior
Asa Tuke sent a pass up the right side, where Agbeyegbe fought off a defender for the ball. He took one touch before chipping a shot over the Roanoke keeper and into the top-left corner for the tie.
Both sides battled for one last opportunity over the final 1:54 of play, but neither team managed to get another shot off before the final buzzer.
The Maroons first got on the board in the 30th minute when a pass from the touch line by Jake Berecz found the foot of Kyle Butcher inside the six-yard box. Butcher flicked the ball on with his right foot and inside the left post for the goal. Roanoke's second goal came 33 minutes later after a foul was called in the box on the Generals. Kunath stepped up and deposited it just inside the right post.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Agbeyegbe finished the night with two goals on five total shots and three on goal, and he is up to 12 goals this season. Jenkins (4) and Kaba (3) both picked up assists on Agbeyegbe's first goal and both took one shot. Senior
Lucas Pleasants and junior
Willy Hall rounded out the offensive threats for the Generals with four shots apiece. Junior goalkeeper
Will Joseph played all nine minutes and made one save.
Butcher and Kunath scored one goal each and took one shot on the night, while Berecz collected an assist on his team's first score. Goalkeeper Luca Gustafson made two saves in 90 minutes of play, and also got a save from one of his defenders in the 48th minute on a by Agbeyegbe.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Agbeyegbe's two goals boosted his career point total by four and up to 115, which leaves him just three points from breaking the program record of 117 held by Sam Chase '99. His two goals also put his career-goal count at 46, five away from tying Jamie Parker '00 for second most in program history.
The Generals are now unbeaten in their last 11 games (7-0-4), which is tied for the fifth-longest single-season unbeaten streak in program history. It is the longest stretch without a loss since the 2022 team rattled off 15 straight (11-0-4) without a defeat.
TEAM STATS:
W&L ended the game with a 24-6 advantage in total shots after outshooting the Maroons 17-4 in the second half. The Blue and White also earned seven corner kicks on the night and conceded two.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they host Virginia Wesleyan at 4:00 p.m. Prior to the start of the match, W&L's eight-player senior class will be honored as part of Senior Day.
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.
