WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team snapped a three-game losing skid on a
cold, blustery Saturday night in Williamsburg, defeating the visiting Hofstra
Pride, 3-2, in overtime. With the win,
the Tribe improves to 9-8 on the season and to 6-4 in the CAA. With the loss, the Pride falls to 6-10 on the
year and to 3-7 in league play.
Senior Nicolas Abrigo was outstanding for the Tribe, scoring
a pair of goals, including the game winner in overtime. Sophomore Chris Perez tallied his first goal
of the season, while freshmen Chris Albiston and Josh West each tallied assists
on the night.
In the 22nd minute, the College got on the scoreboard, taking
a 1-0 lead over the Pride. Working on the
left side of the pitch, Albiston did well to beat his defender and fire the
ball in to the six-yard box. The Pride's
goalie was unable to handle the pass, as the ball bounced behind him. Abrigo was there to clean it up, tapping the
ball in from one yard out for the score.
Abrigo's team-leading seventh goal of the season gave the Tribe a 1-0
advantage.
The College's lead lasted less than two minutes, however, as
Hofstra was able to tie the match in the 24th minute. On the attack, the Pride's Tyler Botte
dribbled in to the top-right corner of the Tribe's 18-yard box. About 16 yards away from goal, Botte was
dragged down by a W&M defender, earning the penalty kick. Taking the penalty for Hofstra was Chris
Griebsch, who converted to tie the match at 1-1.
At halftime, the score remained 1-1. William and Mary out shot the Pride, 6-5, in the
first half, with each team getting two shots on goal. Corner kicks were 4-0 in favor of the Tribe.
After the break, the match got a little physical, with both
teams garnering yellow cards. In the 68th
minute, the Pride was dealt a blow when reigning CAA Defender of the Year and
Rookie of the Year Shaun Foster was sent off, limiting Hofstra to just 10 men
for the rest of the match.
Despite being down a man, it was Hofstra who snatched a lead
late in the second half. On a corner kick
in the 79th minute, Griebsch sent a ball in to the area, finding the head of
Tommi Kjartansson who beat the W&M keeper for the goal. With just over 11 minutes left in regulation,
the Tribe found itself down 2-1 to Hofstra.
As time was dwindling down, the Tribe found the equalizer in
the 85th minute. After settling the ball
just above the 18-yard box, the College's Perez found himself with space to
crack a shot. Perez fired a rocket toward
goal, beating the Hofstra keeper from 22 yards out for the Tribe's second goal
of the match. Perez's first goal of the
season tied the match at 2-2, sending it in to overtime.
In overtime, the Tribe controlled possession, as Hofstra was
scrambling to play defense down to just 10 men.
After a couple of very nice looks at goal, the College found the game
winner off the foot of Abrigo.
After a Hofstra turnover, West played a great ball ahead to
Abrigo. Abrigo dribbled to his right,
finding space just inside the right side of the 18-yard box. Abrigo chipped a beautiful ball over the head
of the Hofstra goalie, just flying in under the crossbar for the game-winning
score. The match-winning goal was the
fifth this year for Abrigo and his eighth total score on the season. The assist was West's team-leading fourth of
the year.
With the win, the Tribe improves its CAA conference record
to 6-4 on the season. With its 18
points, the Tribe fifth place. The
top-six teams will make the Virginia 529 CAA Men's Soccer Championship, which
will be hosted by No. 1 seed James Madison on November 10-13.
The William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team will wrap up
the regular season next Saturday, November 5 when the College will host the
Northeastern Huskies at 7 p.m. The match
will be Senior Day for William and Mary, as the Tribe will honor Colin Smolinsky, Andrew Mahan, Stephen Laws, and Nicolas Abrigo before the match at
Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
