HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 6/12 Washington and Lee women's soccer team posted its 11th shutout of the season and extended its consecutive shutout minutes streak past 600 minutes with a 4-0 victory at Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals' (12-1-1, 7-0-0 ODAC) first goal came in the 22nd minute when a corner kick was sent into the box and redirected on goal by the head of junior
Sarah Zimmerman. First-year
Maren Brown then ensured the ball found the back of the net as she headed the ball over the goal line for her fifth goal of the season. Junior
Helen Otteni then doubled the lead in the 36th minute when she scored on a penalty.
W&L's two second-half goals came in a 62-second span from first-year
Aubrey Dunbar and Otteni. Dunbar scored from inside the box on the left side, gaining possession off a cross from Zimmerman. Dunbar faked one way with her body to lose a defender, before spinning and firing a left-footed shot into the top-right corner of the goal. Otteni then scored on a header off a cross from junior
Bryn Bissinger, after Bissinger saved the ball from going out for a throw.
The Generals dominated the game on both ends of the field, with the offense taking 48 shots and the defense allowing none. It marked the first game since a 4-0 win against Averett on October 28 last season that the W&L defense held the opposing offense without a shot.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Otteni led the way on offense for the Blue and White with her two goals, which came on five shot attempts. Dunbar, along with Otteni, now has four goals this season after she also took five shots and put two on goal. Zimmerman logged two assists to boost her team-high season total to eight, while Bissinger collected her third assist this year. Junior
Sophie Berman topped the Generals with 12 shots to lead a group of five W&L players with five or more shots.
Junior
Abby Groff and first-year
Kate McEnroe shared the shutout in goal, playing one half each. Aja Laun was the Royals' top performer of the night, as she made 14 saves across the 90 minutes of action in goal.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
With yet another shutout on Wednesday night, the Generals are up to 11 clean sheets in their 13 games and 12 wins this season, and they extended their consecutive shutout minutes streak to a season-high 625:58. The Generals entered the day tied for eighth in Division III in goals-against average (.308) and tied for sixth in shutout percentage (.769).
TEAM STATS:
The W&L offense blitzed the EMU defense with 48 total shot attempts and 18 corner kicks. The Blue and White took 28 shots in the first half and 20 in the second, while earning 10 corners in the second half. Over the teams' last two meetings, W&L is outshooting the Royals, 107-1.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play the remainder of their regular season schedule at home, starting with a 1:00 p.m. kick-off on Saturday against Virginia Wesleyan.
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.
