William & Mary Athletics

The 1980 men's soccer team was the first Tribe men's squad to advance to an NCAA tournament.  That season saw it beat a highly-ranked Howard team in four overtimes and PKs to advance to the Quarterfinal round, before falling in a heart-breaking final minute at home to Alabama A&M, 1-0. The team had a powerhouse coaching combination with W&M Hall-of-Famer Al Albert '69 as the head coach and current Tribe Head Women's Coach John Daly served as his top assistant.

The team's success started in the regular season, as it fashioned wins over JMU and ODU to win what was its third-straight Virginia state championship (1978, 1979, 1980).  Forward John McManus still holds all-time single season goal scoring record with 27 goals, and Rob Olson went on to play for US National Team, called Team America at the time. The goalie, Steve Gallop, went on to play for Canadian Olympic team. Since that season, the W&M program has had phenomenal success and has advanced to 14 more NCAA events.