LYNCHBURG, Va. — The 18th-ranked Washington and Lee women’s soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games when they exited Lynchburg in a goalless tie against the Hornets on Wednesday night.
With the result, the Generals are now 12-0-5 overall and 7-0-2 in ODAC, while the Hornets move up to 8-3-6 overall and 6-1-2 in conference play. With 17 straight games unbeaten to start the season, W&L ties the second-longest undefeated run to the start of the season in program history. They also have the third-longest unbeaten streak in a season in program history.
Youth goalkeeper for the eighth time this season SidneySmith (Damascus, Md. / Damascus) (12-0-5) kept an opponent off the scoreboard. Her eight clean sheets this season lead the ODAC, and she stopped four shots in the game to get the shutout.
The Hornets controlled offensive chances for much of the first half and finished the first frame with a 7-2 advantage in total shots. Three W&L saves were made in the first half, including a first-year defensive stop Bryn Bissinger (Greenville, SC / St. Joseph’s Catholic) in the 29th minute to keep the game scoreless.
In the second half, W&L turned things around, taking eight shots and having five on target. In the 78th minute, the generals upped the pressure even more when they fired off six shots in just seven minutes, including four on target. However, Lynchburg keeper Jade Lecklider was there for the stop every time, including a save just off the right post in the bottom corner when he chipped in a Bissinger shot in the 78th minute.
Bissinger led all W&L players with three shots on the night while he was a midfielder in his freshman year Sarah Zimmerman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day) and senior forward Lindsay White (Greenville, SC / JL Mann) had two shots each and one on target.
Smith’s four saves increase her save-to-season ratio to .800 and lower her goals-against-average for the season to .58. Smith is also one shutout away from tying for the fifth-most clean sheets in a season in program history. Her eight shutouts this season are the most in a single season since Grace Coombs ’22 had eight in 2019.
Lynchburg’s Emily Santana led all players that night with four shots and she had one try on target. Sophie Walsh attempted three shots with one on target and Claire Lloyd, Alyssa Damato and Mac Joly attempted three shots each. Lecklider ended the evening with five saves to the shutout.
The Hornets walked away with an 18-10 lead in total shots after an 11-8 lead in the second half. Both teams finished with five shots on goal, and Lynchburg earned nine corners and conceded six.
The Generals will wrap up the regular season in their next competition, a 1pm kick-off against Ferrum, with Seniors’ Day celebrations taking place before the opening kick.