LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore midfielder
Weyimi Agbeyegbe (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster) led the charge for the 22nd-ranked and second-seeded Washington and Lee men's soccer team, scoring half of the team's goals in a 6-1 win over third-seeded Virginia Wesleyan in the ODAC Semifinals on Wednesday.
Agbeyegbe scored the team's third goal of the night in the 16th minute with a slick flick of the ball with his right foot from close range. He then opened the second-half scoring with a goal just 30 seconds in, before tallying W&L's (13-2-4) fifth goal in the 62nd minute off a feed from senior midfielder
Samuel Bass (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park).
First-year midfielder
Matteo Adler (Cobham, England / ACS Cobham International) scored the game's opening goal just 2:39 into the contest, as he finished a rebounded shot with ease, following a saved shot taken by senior midfielder
Michael Kutsanzira (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)). Adler then drew a foul in the inside the box to earn the Generals a penalty kick in the sixth minute, which Kutsanzira promptly deposited into the back of the net.
The Generals' sixth goal came in the 64th minute, when Kutsanzira assisted junior midfielder
Grant McCarty (Dallas, Texas / Parish Episcopal) for his fourth goal of the season. The Marlins' (12-4-4) lone score came in the 60th minute by Josh Condit.
Agbeyegbe logged his first career hat trick to lead the Blue and White, and he now has 12 goals on the season which is tied for the ODAC lead and ranks tied for 34th in Division III. With 28 points now this year, Agbeyegbe leads the ODAC outright.
Kutsanzira and Bass both moved their ways up W&L all-time leaderboards, as well, with their efforts. Kutsanzira finished the night with three assists, tying the program record that was last reached by teammate
Charley Colby (Prairie Village, Kan. / Shawnee Mission East) in 2019. Kutsanzira now has 22 assists for his career, tied for the third most in program history.
Bass logged a pair of assists to boost his career total to 23, as he sits just one helper away from tying Dylan Ritch '19 for the program record. Junior midfielder
Park Bruner (Atlanta, Ga. / Atlanta International), who also had two assists in the game, sits with Bass atop the team and ODAC assist leaderboard this season with eight apiece.
Adler's opening goal marked his sixth of the season, the most for a W&L first-year since teammate
John Peterson (Towson, Md. / Loyola Blakefield) scored seven times in 2019. Adler took the second-most shots in the game for W&L (4), while Kutsanzira finished with a game-high six attempts.
First-year goalkeeper
Will Joseph (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) (13-0-4) tallied the win after he allowed one goal in 72:20 of action. Senior
Rye McMillen (Fairfax, Va. / The Heights School) entered and played the final 17:40 and made one save.
Condit was joined in the shot column by John-Michael Maldonado and Seamus Nicholson. Maldanodo and Condit both put their attempts on goal, while Nicholson's went wide. Griffin Potter (12-4-4) was tagged with the loss in goal, but made six saves in 90 minutes of action.
W&L held a 24-3 advantage in shots for the game, including 10-0 in the first half. Corner kicks also favored the Blue and White by a 5-1 margin.
The Generals advance to the ODAC Championship game for the first time since 2019, where they will host fourth-seeded Roanoke on Saturday. The start time for the game will be determined at a later date.
