The Emory men’s soccer team suffered a 5-1 loss against the Washington and Lee University (Va.) Generals on Sept. 13. The Eagles ended the game with 13 shots on goal, behind the Generals’ 18. The Eagles seemed to have some openings on offense but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities.
The Eagles started the match off strong with junior goalkeeper Cole Gallagher making two incredible saves against Washington and Lee’s freshman midfielder Michael Kutsanzira. But a little over halfway through the first half, Kutsanzira bested Gallagher and scored in the corner of the 18-yard box.
The Generals added one more goal courtesy of sophomore midfielder Ethan McCann in the 36th minute and went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Emory attempted a comeback at the beginning of the second half, but it was short-lived. Freshman midfielder Joe Beare scored a short-range shot off a header, putting the Eagles on the board, but Kutsanzira scored yet again a little over a minute later, leaving the Eagles trailing by two points.
Kutsanzira scored again in the 72nd minute, and within three minutes, fellow freshman midfielder John Peterson scored the Generals’ fifth and final goal.
Emory junior forward Nate Sampson said he thought the Eagles need to be more focused to succeed in the future.
“It was a really inconsistent performance,” Sampson said. “We had patches where we played well, but it ultimately came down to a lack of focus. We seemed to play timid, and we lacked concentration and discipline in our shape and decision-making.”
The Eagles return to action on Sept. 21 and 22 at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (Texas) and University of Texas at Dallas.
