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Men's Soccer

Generals Close Season with Loss to Denison in NCAA First Round

CARLISLE, Pa. --- The Washington and Lee men's soccer team conceded a goal in the 87th minute against No. 25 Denison on Saturday night, which proved to be the difference in a 1-0 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • The lone goal of the game came with 3:55 left on the clock. Phil Koutsaftis dribbled into the box on the left side and hit a quick shot through traffic and into the right-side netting.
  • The Generals (11-5-5) had three shots on goal in the second half, including a shot from sophomore Ricardo Sanchez from close range in the 56th minute. Junior Taha Kaba found Sanchez alone in front of the net, but keeper Alex Provost managed to make the save.
  • Sophomore Justin Ceccanecchio later nearly pulled off a highlight-reel effort on a free kick. His attempt from well outside the 18 banged off the crossbar in the 85th minute, just under a minute before the Big Red scored.
  • Both sides spent the first half looking for openings, but the defenses did well to shut down opportunities. Only first-year Sami Seife got a shot on goal in the first half, with a Provost save in 14th minute.
TOP PERFORMERS:
  • Seife finished with a W&L-high three shots, and he put two attempts on goal. Sanchez and first-year Isaac Arrowood both took two shots and put one on goal.
  • Senior Will Joseph made one save in the game, which came in the 76th minute.
  • Koutsaftis's goal was his fifth of the season, leading the way for the Big Red. He was the only Denison player with multiple shot attempts.
  • Provost finished the night with three saves to produce his 10th clean sheet of the season.
TEAM STATS:
  • Shots were even at the half, 3-3, with the Generals holding the final edge, 11-7.
  • The teams split the four corner kicks taken in the game. The Big Red had both of theirs in the first half and the Generals took their two in the second half.
END OF SEASON NOTES:
  • Joseph closes out his career at W&L as the program's all-time leader in shutouts (32). He also settled in at third in career goals-against average (0.84), 10th in saves (207) and tied for the third-best single-season GAA with a 0.52 this year.
  • Senior Willy Hall ended his career having played in 92 games. That is the second most in program history, with his former teammate Weyimi Agbeyegbe '25 three games ahead of him.
  • As a team, the Generals conceded just 13 goals all year for a 0.62 team GAA. It is the fewest goals allowed in a season since the 2013 team also let in 13 scores, while it is the lowest GAA for a season since the 2007 team posted a 0.53 in 18 games.