SEWANEE – William Bryan worked for a second-half penalty and then converted from the spot, but it wasn't enough in a 2-1 loss to No. 3 Washington & Lee here Sunday.
The Scots fought off a determined Generals effort in the first half. Washington & Lee outshot Maryville 14-1 and worked a 6-0 edge in corner kicks but could manage only a 2-0 lead at intermission.
"They are a very good team." Scots head coach
Pepe Fernandez said. "They were in the national semifinals last year and are No. 3 in the country. But at some point, we want to be one of those top teams this year and in the second half we showed that we could beat a team like that.
"We weren't better than them today, but we could beat that type of team and that's all you have to do. We were a little more conservative in the first half, and then we realized we could step up and play and create some havoc and we did. We thought we created enough chances to win."
Washington & Lee (1-1-0) picked up goals from Weyimi Agbeyegbe in the 19th minute and Michael Kutsanzira in the 32nd minute. The Generals finished with a 23-7 edge in shots and a 12-3 margin in corners.
Bryan on his penalty slotted the ball low and left, completely fooling the Generals keeper.
Maryville goalkeeper
Mykal Manfred was terrific in goal for the Scots, posting nine saves against 23 shots. On offense,
Ndubueze Henry attempted three shots (one on goal), Bryan two shots (both on goal), and
Jorge Graniel and
Garrett Settles one shot apiece.
The Scots (0-2-0) are back in action Friday and Sunday at the 33rd Annual Bob Allen Nissan Classic, hosted by Centre. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 9
5:30 p.m. – Kenyon vs. Spalding
7:30 p.m. – Maryville vs. Centre
Sunday, Sept. 11
1 p.m. – Maryville vs. Spalding
3 p.m. – Centre vs. Kenyon
