LEXINGTON, Va. – The No. 4/9 Washington and Lee women's soccer team scored twice in both halves and posted its 11th straight shutout on Friday evening to move past fourth-seeded Randolph-Macon, 4-0, in the ODAC Tournament semifinals.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (17-1-1) jumped in front in the 15th minute after a Randolph-Macon (11-5-4) defender gave the ball away in the W&L attacking third. First-year
Megan Zimmerman gained possession, turned and left the ball back for junior
Shay Bowman. Bowman took a controlling touch before lofting a pass into the center of the box where junior
Sarah Zimmerman headed the ball just inside the left post from near the penalty spot.
Ten minutes later, junior
Helen Otteni was the one to send a lofted pass into the box, where she found junior
Sophie Berman. With her back to goal, Berman touched the ball back to the edge of the 18 where first-year
Aubrey Dunbar beat keeper Zoe Long inside the right post for a two-goal lead.
Sarah Zimmerman was at it again in the 66th minute when she received the ball at the 18 on the left side, spun around a defender and scored with her left foot to the top-left corner of the frame. The Generals put the finishing touches on the 4-0 win in the 85th minute when first-year
Sydney Irwin took a corner kick and found sophomore
Gracie Jorgensen for a header at the back post.
The Yellow Jackets got one shot on goal in the 12th minute of the game, an easy stop for junior goalkeeper
Abby Groff, and they finished with only three total attempts and two on goal. Groff made another save in the 51st minute to keep her side up by two at the time.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Zimmerman finished the night with two goals on eight total shots, with her season-goal total now standing at 11. Dunbar's first-half goal was her fifth of the season, while Jorgensen netted her second of the year. Bowman,
Megan Zimmerman, Berman, Otteni and Irwin all collected one assist each.
Groff finished the game with two saves across the first 72:36 of game time. First-year
Kate McEnroe entered and played the remaining 17:24 and did not face a shot.
The Generals' final score could have been much larger had it not been for the efforts of Long in the RMC goal. Across the 90 minutes of action, Long faced 20 shots on target and made 16 saves.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals improved their three top shutout marks to 16 total for the season, 11 straight clean sheets and 1,075:58 consecutive minutes. A 16th shutout for the season ties W&L with the 2009 team's output for the second-most in a single season. Only the 2006 team (20) has more shutouts in one season.
Groff also extended her personal consecutive shutout minutes streak to 875:32 to pass Addie Healy '16 (833:13) for the third-longest individual run in program history.
The Generals claimed their 17th win of the season on Friday, which is tied for the second-most wins in a single season in program history. The last team to reach 17 victories was the 2013 team.
Zimmerman is the first player for the program to reach 11 goals in a season since Grace Wielechowski '23 did so in 2021. Now with 30 points this year, Zimmerman is the first player with 30 in a season since Tricia Jessee '17 finished the 2014 campaign with 32 (14g, 4a).
TEAM STATS:
The Generals took 23 shots in the first half and 25 in the second half to end the game with a 48-3 advantage in total shots. The Blue and White took 14 corners kicks, including 11 in the second half. For the fourth consecutive game, the Generals did not concede a corner kick.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in their second-straight ODAC championship game on Sunday at home against third-seeded Virginia Wesleyan. W&L won the regular-season meeting with the Marlins, 2-0, on October 26. The start time for the game has yet to be announced.
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.
