GRANTHAM, Pa. --- The No. 23 Washington and Lee men's soccer team's season came to a close after a 0-0 draw with No. 25 Johns Hopkins in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Blue Jays advancing, 4-2, on penalty kicks.
The Blue Jays (13-4-2) made all four of their penalty kicks following the second overtime period, coupled with saves on shots taken by senior midfielder Dylan Ritch (Mint Hill, N.C./Independence) and junior defender Griffin Coffey (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle) in the first and fourth rounds, respectively. First-year defender Seth Chapman (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville) and junior defender Oliver Dolberg (Clovis, Calif./Floyd B. Buchanan) tallied the made shots in the shootout for W&L (14-3-2).
In the first overtime period, the Blue Jays had a strong offensive chance in front of the goal, following a corner kick, but W&L first-year keeper Michael Nyc (Kildeer, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) came up with a pair of saves to keep Johns Hopkins off the board.
Both teams put forth strong efforts in the second overtime, with W&L holding a slight 3-2 edge in shots over Johns Hopkins for the period, but neither side was able to find the back of the net.
Blue Jays sophomore goalkeeper Xander Lefevre (13-4-2) made six saves in the game, playing all 110 minutes of action, and came up with two additional saves in the shootout.
Nyc (13-1-2) finished with three saves in the contest, also playing all 110 minutes, in extending his shutout streak to seven straight starts and 874 consecutive minutes. In posting his eighth shutout of the season, Nyc tied the program record for most shutouts in a season. The 110 scoreless minutes on the day lowered his season goals-against average to 0.45, a new program single-season record.
Senior midfielder Viktor Dolberg (Clovis, Calif./Floyd B. Buchanan) led the Generals with four shots in the game and sophomore midfielder Danny Tran (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) came in next with three, while Ritch and senior defender Jack Miller (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) finished with a pair of shots.
Senior forward Kevin Lencioni (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams) tallied one shot in the contest, putting the attempt on goal, as he appeared in his 85th career game, the most appearances in program history.
The Blue Jays were led by sophomore forward Pablo Martinez and junior forward Achim Younker, who both shot three times and combined for two shots on goal.
For the game, the Generals outshot the Blue Jays, 14-13, including an 11-7 edge in regulation, and earned seven corner kicks to five for Johns Hopkins.
The Generals conclude their season with a 14-3-2 overall record, but will carry a 15-game unbeaten streak into the 2019 season, the longest in program history. In addition, the seniors end their careers having contributed 60 wins to the men's soccer program, the most over any four-year stretch in program history.
--- This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department. ---
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