(October 24, 2009) LEXINGTON, VA – The Hampden-Sydney soccer team defeated the Generals of Washington & Lee University today by a margin of 1-0. The win was the Tigers' 14th victory of the season, which equals the second most wins in a single season in Hampden-Sydney history.

The first half started off slow, with neither side creating a whole lot of scoring chances early on. The midfield was host to most of the action, with both squads' back lines holding firm. The Washington & Lee defense did a nice job early of containing the Tiger attack, forcing several offside calls. Hampden-Sydney's offense finally awoke in the last 15 minutes of the half, launching several shots at the Generals' keeper and finally getting on the board in the 34th minute.

On the play, junior Andrew Berg (Aberdeen, Scotland/Int'l School of Aberdeen) received the ball at the top of the box and turned and fired the ball into the left side of the box. Sophomore Bryan Hughes (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) was waiting for the ball and deflected it back to the right side of the goal and past the scrambling keeper to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Just moments later, Berg did well to earn a penalty kick by beating his man in the right side of the box before being dragged down from behind. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the goalkeeper guessed right and was able to block the shot, sending the game into halftime at 1-0.

The second half looked much like the first, with the majority of the action taking place in the middle of the field and neither side generating many legitimate threats. The Tigers did eventually work in a few chances though, with senior JoJo Howard (Lanexa, VA/New Kent) missing just wide left in the 57th minute, and a few near misses off of a corner kick in the 81st minute. Hampden-Sydney had a scare of their own in the 88th minute when a lobbed shot by Washington & Lee was heading towards the goal, only to be headed out of harm's way at the last second to preserve the shutout. Several Tigers turned in impressive efforts on the day, notably freshman Chris Whiteside (Virginia Beach, VA/Frank W. Cox), whose control of the midfield set the tone for Hampden-Sydney all afternoon.

With the win, Hampden-Sydney improves to 14-3-0 overall and 7-2-0 in the ODAC, while Washington & Lee falls to 4-6-4 overall and 2-5-2 in the ODAC. The Tigers will return to action on Tuesday, October 27 when they host ODAC power Roanoke College. In addition to being a pivotal game for conference seeding, the game will also be Hampden-Sydney's senior night. Tiger Seniors Christopher Tait, Cooper Anderson, Brett Chonko, Will Robertson, and JoJo Howard will be honored for their contributions to the Hampden-Sydney program. Kickoff for the game is set for 4 pm.