Bridgewater, Va.- On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Eagles were defeated by the Generals 2-1 in their toughest matchup thus far.

Although a tough loss for the Eagles, their ODAC record still stands at a top-notch 6-1.

For the Eagles, graduate student Hanna Randolph led the team with four shots, followed by junior Ashley Sabatino and first-year Lyric Birkley with ten shots each. Junior Carlee Gaboury made a total of eight saves, however, it wasn’t enough in this matchup. 

Bridgewater’s continued tenacity and effort throughout the challenging game were vital in the fiercely contested encounter. The lone goal for the Eagles came via a free kick that Randolph put safely in the back of the net.

In the first half, the Generals were predominately in charge of the tempo. Washington and Lee’s first corner came due to early pressure in the 12th. 

The Generals intercepted the ball just at the outside of the box, but were unable to capitalize on their first opportunity to shoot. Gaboury was narrowly beaten by Generals freshman Sarah Zimmerman’s strike across the box to give WLU a 1-0 lead.

In minute 23, BC’s Sabatino attempted a shot, but it was stopped by a defender. After catching the rebound, senior Kaia Richardson dribbled into the area before being tackled by a defender, earning BC a penalty kick. 

To make it 1-1, Randolph took the kick and buried it right inside the left post.

In the last seconds of the first half, Gaboury stepped it up. In the final ten minutes, the goalkeeper made three saves to keep level before halftime.

In the second half, there was a lot of back-and-forth activity, and both teams had opportunities to score. Bridgewater’s greatest early opportunity came in the 58th minute, when Randolph fired a corner kick into the box that almost missed the runs of junior Skyler Daum and first-year Kendall Garza, who were both on the move.

BC had another opportunity in the 70th minute after Birkley’s initial shot was blocked. After receiving the rebound, she shot again, this time missing the goal.

“The game was intense, with this being the first time we’ve been back at that field since the ODAC championship,” said graduate student Emily York. “Overall, we were proud of how the team played. We just missed our opportunities. Now it’s time to learn from the past and focus on the next game.” 

Emma Mansfield fired a shot for Washington and Lee in minute 86, but junior Maren Dougherty stopped it. Washington & Lee increased its advantage to 2-1 after general Lindsay White seized the rebound and slammed the ball into the goal.

Randolph led all BC players with four shots in the contest. The Generals had four different players match that total. 

The Eagles went 495 minutes without allowing a goal before the first-half goal. Smith’s 325-minute scoreless streak in goal for the Generals was also broken by Randolph’s goal.

“Despite the loss, we played some good team soccer. It was an evenly matched game going back and forth with attacks,” said Dougherty. “We all were able to show some good things offensively and defensively. Losing to a good team like that just makes us hungrier for the next one.”

This Wednesday at Bridgewater’s soccer complex, the Lady Eagles will host the Shenandoah University Hornets at 3:30 p.m. for senior night.