BREVARD, N.C. – The 2022 USA South Conference Champion Brevard College men's soccer team (12-5-3) will travel to Lexington, Virginia on Saturday, November 12 to take on No. 22 Washington and Lee University (14-2-4), who won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, at 1 p.m at Alston Parker Watt Field.
The winner of BC and W&L will take on the victor in the Case Western Reserve/Muhlenburg match on Sunday, November 13 at 3:30 p.m.
Brevard, under the direction of fourth-year Head Coach Helio "L" D'Anna, won the USA South Conference for the first time in program history in dramatic fashion, winning three matches in five days as the tournament's four-seed.
BC's postseason run, which required the Tornados to play three matches over the course of five days and last through over 330 minutes of soccer, began at home last Tuesday when Brevard and Greensboro drew scoreless through regulation and overtime before the Tornados advanced 4-3 on a penalty kick shootout. Brevard then traveled to Rocky Mount, North Carolina to take on top-seeded NC Wesleyan University, as the two sides finished regulation tied 1-1 ahead of da Silva's 109th-minute game-winner in double-overtime that sent the Tornados to the championship match.
The improbable run concluded on Saturday when Brevard fell behind 1-0 in the 11th minute as William Peace's Josh Rutland connected on TJ Hurd's assist on a throw-in from the near sideline. Both sides went scoreless through the remainder of the first half as the hosts took the one-goal advantage into the halftime intermission.
Following 40 more scoreless minutes of action, Brevard was finally able to break through in the 85th minute when da Silva collected a loose ball and found the back of the net which would lead to extra time being needed to decide a champion. After a scoreless first ten minutes of overtime, BC's Lynch scored what would become the game-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime.
Brevard, who is in the midst of the most historic season in the program's NCAA-era history, will continue its run in the program's first NCAA Tournament. BC has won its most single-season matches (12) in the NCAA era this year, while Lynch broke program records for single-season (14) and career (21) goals and points (33 this season, 49 career). O'Callaghan broke the single-season (eight) and career (15) NCAA-era records for assists, as Coach L's squad captured the program's first conference title, and its second trophy in three seasons (Spring 2021 USA South West Division Championship).
The 22nd-ranked Generals dominated through ODAC competition, finishing with a 7-1-2 record in conference play with a 14-2-4 overall record. W&L scored 15 goals in three matches over the course of its ODAC Tournament run, defeating Roanoke 2-1 in the championship match to earn the conference's automatic bid.
Washington and Lee was led offensively by Weyimi Agbeuegbe, who scored 13 goals with four assists this season. Michael Kutsanzira added eight goals and nine assists, while Samual Bass totaled seven goals and eight assists. Goalkeeper Will Joseph went undefeated in between the sticks with a 14-0-4 record, allowing just 11 goals with a 0.66 goal-against-average.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, and follow 'Brevard College Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from Brevard College events.
-BC-