ASHLAND, Va. – The No. 21 Washington and Lee men's soccer team pushed past Randolph-Macon, 3-1, on Wednesday night to lock up the No. 2 seed for the upcoming ODAC Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (10-3-4, 6-0-4 ODAC) took an early 1-0 lead in the seventh minute, when senior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe sent a pass up the right side to junior
Buster Couhig. Couhig controlled the ball, sized up his defender and made a move towards goal before sending a cross into the box. Couhig's cross made it all the way across the box, before senior
Lucas Pleasants fired it past the keeper on the far post for the goal.
W&L then added to its lead in the 24th minute when Couhig managed to put in a shot off the right post that was initially taken by senior
PJ Ryan. The Generals' offense was relentless in the first half, totaling 12 shot attempts and putting five on goal, while limiting the Yellow Jackets to five shots and only one on goal.
The Yellow Jackets got a goal back in the 64th minute when Hawkins Adcock netted his fourth goal of the season. However, in the 79th minute, W&L sophomore
Matthew Jenkins headed in a cross inside the left post from Agbeyegbe to get his side back up by two goals.
Over the final 12 minutes, W&L held RMC to just one shot attempt, taken by Teddy Westervelt in the 80th minute but saved by junior goalkeeper
Will Joseph.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Pleasants' and Couhig's goals were their fifth scores of the season, with Jenkins collecting his second goal of the year late in the second half. Agbeyegbe (6), Couhig (2) and Ryan (1) all received assists on the night. Pleasants and Agbeyegbe led in total shots with five each and two apiece on goal. Joseph ended the night with three total saves in earning the win.
Adcock's goal for the Yellow Jackets came on his only attempt of the night. No RMC player took multiple shots, as eight players totaled the team's eight attempts. Adam Braithwaite played all 90 minutes in the Randolph-Macon goal and made seven saves to keep his side within striking distance.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Agbeyegbe's assist on Jenkins' goal tied him with Dylan Ritch '19 for third place on the program's all-time assists list (24). Next on the leaderboard are former teammates Michael Kutsanzira '23 (25) and Samuel Bass '23 (26). His assist also put Agbeyegbe just one point away from tying Sam Chase '99 for the program's career points record (117).
W&L's win on Wednesday night clinched the No. 2 seed for the upcoming ODAC Tournament. It sets up a rematch against the Yellow Jackets in the ODAC Quarterfinals on Saturday at Watt Field. It marks the seventh straight season the Generals have claimed a Top 2 seed for the conference tournament. For a look at the full tournament field, click
here.
TEAM STATS:
W&L outshot Randolph-Macon by a 23-8 final count, with 12-5 and 11-3 margins in the first and second halves, respectively. The Generals also claimed 11 corner kicks and conceded four.
UP NEXT:
The second-seeded Generals and seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets will meet once more on Saturday in the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals in Lexington. Opening kick-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.
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.
