LEXINGTON, Va. – Two second-half goals from Johns Hopkins lifted the 24th-ranked Blue Jays past the third-ranked Washington and Lee men's soccer team in the season opener at Watt Field on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both sides played to a scoreless first half, with the Generals holding the lead in shots by a 9-5 margin, including a pair of shots on goal from senior
Weyimi Agbeyegbe that were stopped. In the 45th minute, JHU looked to move in front when Jason Pan angled a shot towards the top-left corner of the frame, but junior goalkeeper
Will Joseph leapt to the rescue and made a finger-tip catch to keep the ball out of the net.
The Blue Jays needed just 77 seconds to get on the board in the second half, however, as Jack Mendrysa found Will Sangpachatanaruk on the far post. Sangpachatanaruk's shot banked off the left post and trickled along the goal line, before finally rolling over the line for before a General defender could clear it.
Twelve minutes later, Hopkins got its second goal on the board when Sangpachatanaruk sent a cross over the goal box to the left side for Scotty Coleman. Coleman found space to get a shot off, and he bent his attempt around the outstretched reach of a diving Joseph and into the side netting for the 2-0 lead.
W&L tried to respond in the 62nd minute on a corner kick. The Generals sent the ball into the box where it was met by the head of sophomore
Spencer Furman, but his attempt was saved by Loucas Costeas just under the crossbar. After that, W&L managed one final shot on goal in the 81st minute from junior
Buster Couhig, but Costeas made the stop once again.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Joseph made three saves in the game while playing all 90 minutes in goal, with his counterpart Costeas finishing with five saves to post the clean sheet.
Agbeyegbe led the W&L offense with three total shot attempts and two on goal, with 10 additional Generals combining for the remaining 13 shots and three attempts on goal in the game. Sangpachatanaruk highlighted the Blue Jays' offense with his goal and assist. Coleman scored on his only shot attempt to provide a jolt off the bench, while Mendrysa assisted on the first goal and took two shots.
TEAM STATS:
W&L ended the game with a 16-8 advantage in total shots, with a 9-5 edge in the first half and 7-3 in the second half. The Blue and White also earned more corner kicks than the visitors by a 7-2 count.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be back at home for their next contest, as they host Catholic on Sunday at 1:00 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.
