2024 W&L Men's Soccer Season Preview

Generals open season No. 2 in ODAC poll, No. 3 by United Soccer Coaches

8/22/2024 2:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Old Dominion Athletic Conference released its 2024 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll on Thursday and Washington and Lee was selected as the No. 2 team with 136 points and five first-place votes.

The University of Lynchburg topped this year's preseason poll with the remaining eight first-place votes and 140 total points to edge the Blue and White by four points for the top spot. Virginia Wesleyan came in third with 121 points, Roanoke was slotted fourth with 107 points and Shenandoah rounded out the Top 5 with an even 100 points.

The Generals are coming off their second NCAA Semifinal appearance in the last three seasons, and they posted an overall record of 15-4-6 in 2023. W&L went 8-1-1 in conference play to claim the top seed and home field advantage in the ODAC Tournament, but fell to Lynchburg in the championship game. Needing an at-large bid to get into the NCAA Tournament, the Generals made it in for the eighth straight season and made a run into the national semifinals in Salem, Va., but ultimately succumbed to national runner-up Amherst in penalties.

W&L is led into the 2024 season with a myriad of experience on the pitch, with seven players that started at least 20 games.

2024 ODAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

University of Lynchburg (8) 140 pts.
Washington and Lee University (5) 136 pts.
Virginia Wesleyan University 121 pts.
Roanoke College 107 pts.
Shenandoah University 100 pts.
Hampden-Sydney College 88 pts.
Randolph-Macon College 71 pts.
Averett University 67 pts.
Bridgewater College 50 pts.
Eastern Mennonite University 50 pts.
Randolph College 37 pts.
Ferrum College 34 pts.
Guilford College 13 pts.

National Poll

The Generals will open up the 2024 season as the No. 3-ranked team in Division III following the release of the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25. Defending national champion St. Olaf begins the season atop the national poll, followed by Amherst College at No. 2, Washington College (Md.) at No. 4 and Middlebury College rounding out the Top 5.

For a look at the complete United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25, click here. New polls will release every Tuesday around 4:00 pm ET throughout the regular season.

This season, our goal is to compete for a national championship. There are a lot of talented teams across the nation and we believe very much in our ability to get there. As a group, we’ve been very close, and that remains our primary goal, despite us knowing how difficult that journey will be.

For now, we are simply going to focus on the process of getting things right. We have an exceptional team in place, and we are very committed to doing the necessary work. Both in conference as well as nationally, we fully understand that there are no easy games. Every opponent will bring a massive challenge and we have to be prepared for that. But I am counting on our senior leadership and quite a few of our upperclassmen to make a difference

Head Coach Lumumba Shabazz (First Season)

2024 Schedule Overview

The Generals have 17 games slated for regular season play, with seven to be played on Watt Field and nine away from Lexington, including one neutral site matchup. For just the second time in the last nine seasons, the Generals will open the season at home, which comes in an August 30 matchup against 24th-ranked Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m.

The season-opening matchup against the Blue Jays precedes a second straight home contest against Catholic on September 1. W&L will then be on the road for their next three games, their longest stretch of consecutive road games this season, beginning with Sewanee on September 6. W&L will then have a quick turnaround as they head to Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., the following day for a noon opening kick-off.

W&L then has its lone neutral game of the season when they meet Oglethorpe at the Charlotte Soccer Academy in Pineville, N.C., on September 13. It will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Generals and Stormy Petrels, all of which have come in consecutive seasons. It will be the first matchup, however, played on neutral ground.

Three of the next five games on the slate will be played in Lexington. That stretch starts with Brevard on September 15, followed by the first ODAC game of the season against Bridgewater 10 days later. A home contest against Averett on October 5 wraps up the 3-of-5 home game stretch, with Guilford (9/28) and Randolph (10/2) on the road before Averett.

Of the final seven games on the schedule, four will be on the road, including the final nonconference game in an annual matchup against Christopher Newport on October 9. The final three road games will be Shenandoah (10/16), Lynchburg (10/19) and Randolph-Macon, while the last three home dates are Ferrum on October 12, Roanoke on October 13 and Virginia Wesleyan on October 26.

The Generals will be facing Johns Hopkins for the first time since seeing them twice in a three-game stretch – the NCAA First Round in 2018 and the second game of the season in 2019 (0-1-1). Catholic comes to Lexington for the second season in a row (2023 NCAA Tournament), but it will be the first time since 2015 that the Cardinals and Generals will clash. W&L holds a perfect 8-0 record against Sewanee and will meet the Tigers for the third straight season, while the Covenant Scots look to avenge a loss in the 2021 NCAA Tournament against the Generals, the two teams’ only previous meeting.

In ODAC play, the Generals went 8-1-1 in 2023, with the lone loss in a 3-2 decision against Roanoke. In their eight conference wins, W&L outscored its opponents 28-3 and posted five shutouts.

The 2024 ODAC Men's Soccer Tournament will commence with the Quarterfinals on November 2 at each of the top four seeds. The semifinals will then be played on November 6 at the two highest remaining seeds, followed by the championship game at the highest remaining seed on November 9.

Key Returners

The Generals return a wealth of experience and talent from last season's Final Four team, led by United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American Weyimi Agbeyegbe. Senior PJ Ryan and junior Will Joseph joined Agbeyegbe on the All-ODAC First Team, while juniors Matteo Adler and Willy Hall made the second team and senior Will Luik picked up third team laurels.

Agbeyegbe had yet another productive offensive season in 2023 as he tallied 32 points on 13 goals and six assists to add a First Team All-Region citation to his resume. His 32 points and 13 goals both led the ODAC, and Agbeyegbe tied for fifth in the league with his six helpers.

Joseph accompanied Agbeyegbe on the All-Region First Team with a strong sophomore season in goal. Starting all 25 games for the Blue and White, Joseph logged 2221:59 in goal and posted the third-best goals-against average (0.93) and save percentage (0.755) in the ODAC.

Ryan, Hall and Luik make up three of the likely starting four defenders for the Generals, and each contributed to team success on both ends of the pitch. Collectively, they anchored a defensive unit that held teams to 0.96 goals per game with 11 shutouts, the most for the men's soccer program since 2019 (12). On offense, the trio combined for 16 points on seven goals and two assists.

Other vital pieces returning for the upcoming season include seniors Lucas Pleasants and Asa Tuke, juniors Matteo Adler and Buster Couhig, and sophomore Spencer Furman. Pleasants, Tuke, Adler and Couhig all add offensive production for the Generals with 50 points combined last season on 13 goals and 24 assists, including an ODAC-high eight coming from Couhig. Furman completes the defensive unit for the Blue and White, as he saw action in all 25 games with 17 starts.

Junior Will Joseph is the only non-senior captain on this year's team, who already brings 46 games and 3,986:18 minutes of experience between the posts into the season.

Last season, Joseph started all 25 games for the Blue and White and tallied a 0.93 goals-against average in 2,221:59 of action with nine shutouts and a 0.755 save percentage. His performance earned him First Team All-ODAC and All-Region accolades, as well as a First Team VaSID All-State citation.

Joseph became the W&L men's soccer program's second-ever recipient of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Elite 90 Award, which honors the student-athlete with the top GPA at the final championship site. An accounting and classics double-major, Joseph is a four-time W&L Scholar Athlete, two-time ODAC All-Academic Team member and serves as an aide for special education children through TOP Soccer Program.

Asa Tuke is one of two senior captains for the Generals this season. He has appeared in 58 games during his first three seasons and totaled 16 points on four goals and eight assists.

Tuke made 24 appearances as a junior, all starts, and saw increased offensive production with career highs in goals (2), assists (6) and points (10). He was especially productive during a late-season three-game stretch where he accounted for two goals and four assists heading into the ODAC Tournament, including one score and two helpers in the quarterfinals against Averett.

An environmental studies and geology double-major, Tuke is a five-time W&L Scholar Athlete and has appeared on the ODAC All-Academic Team each year as well. Tuke was also named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District student last season. Off the field, he is Vice President of the Student Environmental Action League and interned at GEI Consultants, Inc. this past summer.

PJ Ryan returns for the Generals in 2024 as one of the team’s top defensive players. He has been a consistent performer for the Blue and White, logging 59 appearances over his first three seasons.

With Ryan’s efforts on the defensive unit, the Generals have yielded a 0.954 GAA and 28 shutouts over the last three seasons. Ryan has also been a contributor on the offensive end with totals of 17 points on seven goals and three assists for his career, with a career-best four goals as a junior. Ryan was a 2023 First Team All-ODAC and All-Region selection, and he has made an All-ODAC team all three years.

Off the field, Ryan has claimed W&L Scholar Athlete, ODAC All-Academic and College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District laurels as a cognitive & behavioral science major. He also serves as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, was a Summer Research Scholar under Professor Gibson and he interned at Hoofbeats Animal Therapy over the summer.

New Faces on Staff

Josh Gildea new men's soccer assistant coach

The W&L men's soccer program heads into the 2024 season with new faces leading the charge. Lumumba Shabazz was named the 10th head coach in program history in June, following a 12-year stint as the head coach for the Kalamazoo men's soccer program.

Shabazz then added Josh Gildea as an assistant coach in July, with Gildea most recently serving the previous two seasons as an assistant men's soccer coach at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa.

To learn more about Coaches Shabazz and Gildea, follow these links: Coach Shabazz | Coach Gildea

Upcoming Milestones and Records

Senior Weyimi Agbeyegbe looks to put a final stamp on his career in 2024, as the forward already ranks in the program's career Top 10 for goals, assists and points. His goal total sits at 34 which is seventh best in program history, and he needs only three more to move into fourth place. Agbeyegbe is also tied for sixth in career assists (18) and could become the all-time program leader with nine more. With 86 points in his career, Agbeyegbe looks to become just the third player in program history to reach triple digits, and he can surpass Sam Chase '99 for the most points in program history with another 32.

Junior goalkeeper Will Joseph can also make some moves up the program's statistical leaderboards this season. Through two seasons, Joseph has amassed 15 clean sheets and a 0.90 goals-against average. His 15 shutouts rank seventh all-time, but just three more would vault him up to third place, and he would become the program record holder if he can match last season's total of nine, something only Michael Nyc ‘22 (12, 2021) had previously achieved. Joseph’s 0.90 GAA in 3,986:18 is currently the fifth-best average among qualified keepers.