LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior
Lucas Pleasants tallied the lone goal of the day in the 80th minute to push the No. 21 Washington and Lee men's soccer team past seventh-seeded Randolph-Macon, 1-0, in the quarterfinal round of the ODAC Tournament on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Pleasants' goal game on a penalty kick in the 80th minute following a hard foul inside the box. Junior
Buster Couhig controlled the ball for the Generals (11-3-4) on a counterattack and played a long-distance cross into the center of the box looking for first-year
Ryan Sharpe. After an RMC (9-7-2) defender took a touch, Sharpe stepped in for a touch of his own to get space for a shot, before he was taken out by the defender to draw the foul.
Pleasants stepped up to take the penalty and blasted it straight-on to the top of the frame for the go-ahead goal.
Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Yellow Jackets managed just one shot attempt, which missed the target, while the Generals kept Randolph-Macon keeper Adam Braithwaite on his toes with two more shots on goal. Braithwaite, who made several diving saves throughout the game, made stops in the 84th and 90th minutes to keep his side close, but his offense was unable to produce a score of its own before the final horn.
The Generals nearly struck for a score in the 21st minute, but Braithwaite made two big saves on shots from W&L senior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe and sophomore
Trian Kechagias. An initial shot from Agbeyegbe was ticketed for just inside the right post, but Braithwaite punched it away. On a rebounding effort, Kechagias tried for a putback shot from inside the six, but Braithwaite was there for a kick save.
Braithwaite also came up big for the Yellow Jackets in the 78th minute when his backline conceded the first of two penalty kicks in the game. With Agbeyegbe taking the shot for W&L, Braithwaite made a diving save to his right to keep the game scoreless.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Pleasants' game-winning goal was his sixth score of the year, the second-most goals on the team. Agbeyegbe took a game-high nine shots on the day and put seven on goal, while Kechagias attempted three shots and found the target twice. In the W&L goal, junior
Will Joseph was required to make only one save to claim the clean sheet, which came in the 26th minute.
Braithwaite was the standout performer for the Yellow Jackets, as he finished the game with 10 saves in the losing effort. On the offensive side, Davian Jackson was the team leader in shots with three total and one on goal.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
W&L's win on Saturday marked its 14th consecutive game without a loss (10-0-4), which is tied for the fourth-longest unbeaten streak in program history.
Joseph's clean sheet was his sixth this year and 21st of his career. He remains in second place on the program's all-time shutouts list (Michael Nyc '22 – 24), but he is the first goalkeeper in program history to record at least six shutouts in three separate seasons.
TEAM STATS:
W&L outshot Randolph-Macon by a final count of 21-5, with margins of 9-2 in the first half and 12-3 in the second half. The Blue and White also finished with an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks, helped by a 7-0 mark in the first half.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will host third-seeded Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday in the semifinal round of the ODAC Tournament at a time yet to be determined. W&L won the regular season meeting with the Marlins, 1-0, on October 26.
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.
