LEXINGTON, Va. – In a match that saw each team score its own goal, the Gettysburg College men's soccer team battled a physical match against No. 11 Washington & Lee University, but the Generals knocked off the Bullets 3-2 on Sunday to end its outstanding run in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in Lexington, Virginia.
Final Result
| Teams |
1 |
2 |
F |
| No. 11 Washington & Lee (17-2-3) |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Gettysburg (12-8-1) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Top Performers – Gettysburg
-
Jack Carroll '22 (Leonia, N.J./Bergen Catholic) – Goal
-
Jonathan Molina '21 (Adelphi, Md./Dematha Catholic) - Assist
-
Thomas Keane '20 (Potomac, Md./Gonzaga College) – 3 Saves
Top Performers – Washington & Lee
- Harris Salom – Goal
- Harry Pinkerton – Goal
- Michael Nyc – 4 Saves
How It Happened…
- First Half: W&L pounded towards the cage four times and kept much of the play down in the Bullets' territory early on, but the Gettysburg defense did a fantastic job as they blocked two of the four attempts to clear the area. Gettysburg's offensive flow started midway through the opening stanza as the team netted two goals in a five minute-span to pull ahead. The first goal came on a W&L own goal in the 23rd minute and the second came from Carroll as Molina slide off a pass to the right side of the box as Carroll rocketed into the top upper right corner for the tally. With six minutes until intermission, the Generals made it a one-goal advantage for the Bullets as Victor Ndhlovu found Pinkerton who blasted a shot over the goalkeepers head and under the crossbar. Keane made two critical saves in the opening stanza, one at the 26 and 37-minute markers.
- Second Half: Gettysburg's leading scorer sophomore Oladayo Thomas (Lagos, Nigeria/The Masters [N.Y]) was the first player in the final stanza to take a shot on target, looking to push the lead back to two, but Nyc denied the shot. Carroll then took the next two shots within four minutes for the Bullets, one that went wide, and Nyc stopped the other. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champions scored the equalizer at the 63rd minute as Salom received a pass from Oliver Dolberg, who took a long touch and shot from inside the 18. Eleven minutes later, an unfortunate situation happened on the Gettysburg defense side, a W&L player passed the ball to his teammate inside the box, but a Bullets defender deflected the ball away and into the back of the net to give the Generals the final tally of the match.
By the Numbers
- The Generals held the 18-9 advantage in shots, including 10 in the second half.
- Gettysburg earned eight corner kicks and limited W&L to three.
- Three own goals occurred between the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, none of which happened during the regular season for the Bullets.
- W&L was ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III South Atlantic Regional rankings with Gettysburg sitting at the No. 5 spot in the Mid-Atlantic.
- It was the second time in three seasons the Bullets finished with 12 or more wins.
- The last time the Bullets advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament was in 1998.
- Thomas registered 15 goals this season, tying him for sixth all-time in the programs single-season record with 2019 Hall of Athletic Honor inductee Chris Pryor '00. His 34 points (15 goals, four assists) also tied him for ninth in a single-season.
- The Bullets faced five nationally-ranked teams this season.
Where the Series Stands Now
Today's match was the first time since 1987 that Gettysburg and W&L had faced each other. The Generals won 2-1 in 1987, but the Bullets hold the slim 5-4-1 all-time series lead.
-Go Bullets-
