LEXINGTON, Va. – The ninth-ranked and top-seeded Washington and Lee women's soccer team cruised into the ODAC semifinals on Saturday behind a 9-0 win against eighth-seeded Eastern Mennonite.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior Sarah Zimmerman highlighted the early goal-scoring for the Generals (15-2-1) by scoring each of the team's first three goals. She scored in the seventh, 15th and 29th minutes. Her first and third goals were both assisted by first-year Mary Parrish Green, while senior Helen Otteni and sophomore Avery Hannah both assisted the second.
- The Generals added two late goals in the first half from junior Emily Burke and first-year McKenna Reh. Burke scored with 1:17 left in the half from senior Bryn Bissinger, with Reh finding the back of the net 62 seconds later on an assist from Burke.
- Otteni got the second-half scoring going in the 54th minute, followed by goals from sophomore Maren Brown in the 57th minute and junior Abigail Watson in the 62nd.
- First-year Julia Espinosa rounded out the W&L offense with her first collegiate goal in the 87th minute on a well-placed shot inside the left post and just out of the reach of the outstretched arm of the keeper.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- Zimmerman's hat trick boosted her season goal total to a team-high 12 and 28 points for the year. Green (2a), Otteni (1g, 1a) and Burke (1g, 1a) added two goal contributions a piece to follow.
- Reh and Watson both scored their second goals of the season and Brown netted her fourth. Bissinger got her sixth assist of the year, sophomore Megan Zimmerman recorded her fourth, Hannah earned her third and junior Amelia Manke got her first.
- Otteni had the game high for shots with eight, followed by S. Zimmerman at six and Burke, Brown and Watson each with five.
- The Eastern Mennonite (6-11-1) goalkeepers highlighted their side's performance. Camden Jefferson started and made eight saves in the first half. Katie Parks entered to start the second half and made 13 stops.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Zimmerman's hat trick marked the first for a Generals since Brown scored three times in an 8-0 win over Berry (Ga.) on September 14 of last season.
- With her three goals, Zimmerman moved into a tie for sixth on the program's all-time goals list (37) with Megan Engeland '19 and Fontaine Marcoux '04. Six more points bumped Zimmerman up to 95 for her career and sixth in program history.
- Bissinger's assist in the first half moved her into a tie for fourth in program history (23) with Holley Beasley '15 and Karin Treese '99.
- Sophomore Kate McEnroe and senior Abby Groff combined on the team's ninth straight shutout and 13th of the season. The Generals have not allowed a goal in the last 844:01, while McEnroe's personal shutout minutes streak is at 529:30.
TEAM STATS:
- The Generals finished the day with 50 shot attempts and put 30 on goal. The Royals got three shots off and tested McEnroe for one save which came in the second minute.
- W&L also held an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks taken – six in the first half and five in the second.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will host fourth-seeded Bridgewater on Wednesday in the semifinal round of the ODAC Championship. The two teams met back on October 1 in a 2-0 W&L win in Bridgewater.
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.
