PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The No. 21 William and Mary men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 setback to Drexel on the road in the Colonial Athletic Championship match on Saturday afternoon.
William and Mary, which suffered only its third loss in last 15 matches, falls to 11-5-2 on the season, while Drexel improves to 9-7-4 overall.
Off of a corner kick in the 26th minute, Drexel scored the match's only goal. Michel Patia sent the ball into the box, and it rolled around for moment. Jameson Detwiler collected the ball and scored into the left corner of the goal. The goal gave Drexel an early lead, 1-0.
The Tribe had a great chance to find the equalizer in the 36th minute. Junior Josh West had an open look from just outside of the box. He curled his shot off of the cross bar and the rebound deflected out of the box.
At the break, Drexel held a 1-0 lead over the Tribe. The Dragons also held the advantage in shots, 5-3, including a 1-0 advantage in shots on goal.
In the 53rd minute, the Tribe had another strong look. Junior Chris Albiston sent a cross into the box that found redshirt senior Chris Perez. Perez sent a header to the goal, but Drexel goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach made the save.
Drexel had a chance to extend its lead in the 59th minute. Joaquin del Rosario uncorked a shot on target, but redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mac Phillips turned it away.
In the 84th minute, the Tribe had another shot to find the equalizer. Sophomore Jackson Eskay put a shot a target, but again Afflerbach made the save.
With everybody in the box on a corner kick in the game's final seconds, the Tribe's final chance was cleared away by a Drexel defender.
For the match, William and Mary outshot the Dragons by a total of 9-8, including a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Tribe also outshot Drexel, 6-3, in the second stanza. Freshman Reilly Maw and Eskay each fired a game-high three shots for the Tribe.
William and Mary was represented on the all-tournament squad by senior Will Smith, junior Michael Teiman as well as Perez.
With an RPI of 10, William and Mary is in position to potentially garner an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. The men's soccer selection show will be held and televised on Monday, Nov. 19 at noon on NCAA.com.
The First Round of the NCAA Tournament is set for Thursday, Nov. 21 at the higher seeds' home field. The second round follows on Sunday, Nov. 24, with the top 16 national seeds earning a bye into that round. All second round matches will be played at the national seeds' home field.
Stay tuned to TribeAthletics.com for any and all William and Mary men's soccer updates.
