DALLAS, Texas - The
No. 13-ranked William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team exacted some revenge on
Saturday night, defeating the No. 5-ranked SMU Mustangs, 3-2, in Dallas. Last season, the Mustangs eliminated the
Tribe in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Tribe starts the year off
at 1-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.
"It was a great to go on the road and beat a good team in
SMU," Tribe head coach Chris Norris said after the win. "With a young team, we didn't know what to
expect, but this is result that could potentially help us down the road."
Senior Nicolas Abrigo scored a pair of goals, including the
game-winner, to propel the Tribe to the win, while junior Ben Anderson also had
a score in the College's season-opening victory. Previous to Saturday's loss to the Tribe, SMU
had been undefeated in its previous 20 season-opening matches played at
Westcott Field (18-0-2).
The Tribe fell behind the Mustangs early on a great strike
from Emmet Kumeh in the 12th minute on a great shot from distance. The College answered back, however, with a
score of its own 25 minutes later.
On the attack, Abrigo passed the ball off to sophomore John Ciampa on the left side. Abrigo then
took off in to the 18-yard box, taking a great cross from Ciampa. Abrigo did well to finish with his head,
beating the SMU keeper to tie the match at 1-1 headed in to the halftime break.
At the end of 45 minutes, SMU had just one more shot than
the Tribe, 7-6, but the Mustangs had three shots on-goal to the College's one.
Coming out of the half, the Tribe had a dream start, taking
a lead it would not relinquish just 59 seconds in. After a Mustangs' turnover on their side of
the pitch, Anderson found himself in some space left of center. From about 30 yards out, Anderson cracked a
shot with his left foot that bent to the goalie's right, finding the back of
the net. On Anderson's great shot, the
Tribe took a 2-1 lead over No. 5-ranked SMU.
Less than 15 minutes later, Abrigo struck again, pushing the
Green and Gold lead to 3-1. With the
Tribe on the attack, the ball was cleared out of the 18-yard box, finding the
foot of Abrigo. The senior took the
opportunity, firing a shot from just outside the box. Abrigo's ball deflected off a SMYU defender
on the way to goal, beating the keeper to his left for the third score of the
match. With his two goals on Saturday,
Abrigo has now totaled six scores in his last six matches dating back to last
season's CAA Tournament semifinals.
Like any good team, the SMU Mustangs did not relent after
going down 3-1. The Mustangs cut the
deficit in half in the 78th minute on a corner kick. Preseason Player of the Year Arthur Ivo sent
a ball in to the box, finding Aaron Simmons who headed the ball past the
W&M keeper.
Simmons' score cut the lead to 3-2, but that's as close as
SMU would get, as the Tribe's defense held in the last 12 minutes, giving the
College the victory. The win on Saturday
marks the highest-ranked opponent the Tribe has defeated since it beat No.
1-ranked Maryland on September 22, 2004.
The No. 13-ranked William and Mary Tribe men's soccer team
will return home to Williamsburg to face the St. John's Red Storm on Thursday,
September 1. Kickoff at Martin Family
Stadium at Albert-Daly Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
