ATLANTA, Ga. - The
No. 22-ranked William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team saw its four-match
winning streak snapped on Wednesday night by the Georgia State Panthers. The College's record falls to 6-4 overall and
to 3-1 in the CAA with the 1-0 loss.
Georgia State improves to 8-2-1 on the year and to 2-1 in league play
with the win.
In a back and forth first half, both the Tribe and the
Panthers were unable to get on the scoreboard.
Shots in the first 45 minutes were 4-3 in favor of Georgia State, with
GSU getting two shots on goal while the College was unable to get a shot on
frame. The story of the opening half was
fouls, with Georgia State getting called for nine and William and Mary for
six. The Panthers were also handed a
pair of yellow cards in the first frame.
Junior captain Ben Anderson took the Tribe's first shot in
the 17th minute, firing wide of the net on his attempt. Also taking shots for the College were
sophomore Chris Perez and freshman Andrew Kestler.
Shortly after the start of the second half, the Tribe had
its first look on goal. With possession
near the top of the 18-yard box, sophomore Ben Coffey cracked a shot towards
goal. The shot forced the GSU keeper to
make a sprawling save, keeping the match scoreless at 0-0.
Minutes later, the Tribe's offense was back at it. On the attack, Anderson sent a great cross in
to the area from the right side. The
junior's pass found senior Nicolas Abrigo, but his redirect towards goal missed
just wide. The opportunity was the best
for the College in a first 10 minutes that saw each team take as many shots as
they did in the entire first half. After
55 minutes, the score remained 0-0.
Over the course of the next 20 minutes, both teams had nice
looks on goal but were unable to crack the scoreboard. Finally in the 80th minute, the College saw
its scoreless steak get snapped on a GSU goal.
Georgia State's Gimel Gordon raced down the right side of the pitch and
fired a shot from 15 yards, beating the W&M keeper to the top right corner
for what would be the match winner.
The Georgia State score was the first allowed by the Tribe
in over four matches, dating back to its match against then-ranked No. 19 East
Tennessee State on September 11. In
total, the College had not allowed an opponent score in over 445 minutes of
play.
For the match, the Panthers out shot the Tribe, 13-9,
getting nine shots on goal to the College's one. Freshman Josh West led W&M with three shots,
while senior goalkeeper Colin Smolinsky tied his career high with six saves in the
loss.
The No. 22-ranked William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team
will return to Williamsburg this weekend when the College will host George
Mason on Saturday, October 8. Kickoff at
Martin Family Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Fans can follow along with the action with both live stats and live
audio available free of charge at TribeAthletics.com.
