WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's soccer team concludes its regular season home schedule with a pair of Colonial Athletic Association matches this weekend. The Tribe welcomes College of Charleston on Friday, Oct. 9, before playing host to UNCW on Sunday, Oct. 11. Kickoff times are set for 7 p.m., and 2 p.m. respectively. Following the match on Sunday, the Tribe will honor its nine seniors after the match.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head women's soccer coach John Daly to discuss the team's training after a week off, the seniors, and the upcoming match. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking here.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary (7-3-1, 1-1-0 CAA) returns to action for the first time in 10 days as they open their final home stand of the regular season this weekend. The Tribe is looking to move its winning streak to two matches after picking up a 3-1 victory over defending conference champion Northeastern on Sept. 27, and were rained out last weekend at Elon. The attack has been balanced as well, as 11 different players have netted a goal. Senior Samantha Cordum leads the team with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Classmate Katie Johnston is second on the team with four goals, an assist and nine points. Senior Caroline Casey has started every match in goal for this season for the Tribe, while sophomore Samantha Johnson has also seen time. Casey boasts a 0.65 goal-against-average with 43 saves, and a four of shutouts.
Scouting the Cougars
The College of Charleston (8-5-0, 2-2-0 CAA) is looking to get back into the win column following a pair of road CAA setbacks last weekend. The Cougars fell to Northeastern (2-1), before falling to Hofstra (5-1) last weekend. Jessica Schifer and Raymara Barreto lead the team with five goals and 10 points apiece. Laura Ortega is just off of the pace with two goals, a team-high four assists, and eight points. Lauren Killian and Genevive Henderson have both split time in goal this season for the Cougars. Killian has played in all 13 matches with nine starts, while posting a 0.95 goals-against-average, 54 saves and three shutouts. Henderson has appeared in eight matches making four starts, and owns a 1.71 goals-against-average with eight saves. The duo has combined for two additional shutouts.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW (9-4-1, 2-1-1) looks to get back into the win column after seeing its 10 match unbeaten streak come to an end last Sunday at Northeastern (3-2) in overtime. The Seahawks defeated Hofstra last weekend, and will also open this weekend at Elon before making the trip to Williamsburg. Katrina Guillou leads the team with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Maddie McCormick is just off of the pace with seven goals, two asssits, and 16 points. Carolyn Huddy has started all 14 matches in goal this season for UNCW, while Liisa Rahkola has also appeared in a match. Huddy boasts a 1.55 goals-against-average, 48 saves, and four shutouts.
Series History
The Green and Gold meets Charleston for the third time in program history on Friday night in Williamsburg. The Tribe leads the all-time series 2-0. Last season, W&M picked up a 2-0 win on the road, taking advantage of an own goal, and an Emory Camper tally, while Caroline Casey recorded a shutout in the win. In both matches against Charleston, the Cougars have surrendered an own goal.
W&M will then meet UNCW on Sunday for the 23rd time in school history. The Tribe leads the all-time series 21-1-0. Last season, the Green and Gold picked up a 2-0 win over the Seahawks. Samantha Cordum and Emily Fredrikson scored for the Tribe, while Caroline Casey made two saves in the shutout.
Tip of the Cap
Senior Samantha Cordum netted her first career hat trick against Northeastern on Sunday afternoon. She scored goals in the 15th, 60th, and 87th minutes to help the Tribe to a 3-1 victory.
D, D, Defense
The Tribe has done a very good job of team defending this season, and it has shown as the Green and Gold has only allowed nine goals this season. The Tribe has two team saves, which were credited to Leci Irvin and Sami Grasso.
Nothing But CLASS
Senior Caroline Casey was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award. Casey has shined on and off of the field during her time with the Tribe. She is involved in multiple community-based activities and also made a medical relief trip to Nicaragua in the winter of 2014. The Chesapeake, Virginia native thrives in the classroom, while also being a two-time captain and All-CAA player.
Balanced Attack
Eleven different players have already netted goals this season for the Green and Gold, which matches last year's total of 11 different players to score. Last weekend, junior Clara Logsdon scored her first marker of the season in the match against Hofstra.
National Recognition
Senior Nicole Baxter was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for the week of Aug. 24.Baxter started in played all 90 minutes in the Tribe's season opening 5-1 victory over Seton Hall on Friday afternoon. On Sunday as the Tribe knocked off its first ranked team since 2011, Baxter played a hand in all three goals. She assisted on sophomore Rachel Moore's game-winning goal in the ninth minute, scored on a penalty kick in the 45th minute, and assisted on senior Samantha Cordum's goal in the 79th minute.
Weekly Awards
For the second straight week, W&M had a player of the week earn CAA Player of the Week honor. This time senior goalkeeper Caroline Casey was earned the honor. The senior recorded five saves and helped preserve her shutout in the final moments of the Old Dominion match on Friday night. However, her best match came on Sunday as she turned away a season-high tying seven shots. She helped the Tribe defense withstand a final minute stretch of three shots and two corner kicks in the final minute. For the season, Casey has 0.49 goals-against-average, with 39 saves, a .907 save-percentage, four shutouts, and six wins. She and the Tribe defense haven't conceded a goal in last 348 minutes dating back to the Wake Forest (Sept. 4) match.
Senior Katie Johnston was named the CAA Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 7. played 58 minutes and fired three shots, one on goal, in the Tribe's 1-1 draw against Wake Forest on Friday night. Johnston saved her best for Sunday afternoon, scoring a pair of goals in W&M's 3-0 win at N.C. State. She scored the game-winning goal in the 22nd minute. The forward added the exclamation point in the 71st minute when she registered her second tally of the match. She finished the day with a match-high five shots.
Johnston is the second Tribe player to earn a weekly award as freshman Mackenzie Kober was named the CAA Rookie of the Week after she scored a goal and had an assist in her first collegiate weekend scoring a goal and registering an assist in the Tribe's 5-1 victory over Seton Hall.
Movin' on Up
Senior goalkeeper Caroline Casey has started every game in goal of her Tribe career, and she is beginning to climb up the W&M record book. She is now tied for fifth all-time with 22 career shutouts after her two last weekend. Casey is currently in third place all-time with 271 saves. She needs 17 saves to move into second place.
Connect Four
The Tribe was selected to finish fourth in annual CAA Preseason Poll voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Back-to-back defending champion Northeastern was selected to repeat as champion, while Hofstra (second) and James Madison third were picked ahead of the Tribe. Despite the fourth place prediction, the voting was very close, and W&M was just 12 points behind first-place Hofstra.
Preseason Praise
W&M had a league high five players selected to CAA Preseason Honors this year. Leading the way were seniors Leci Irvin and Caroline Casey, who received All-CAA Preseason honors. Senior Samantha Cordum, and sophomores Rachel Moore and Elysse Branton garnered honorable mention accolades.
What's Ahead
The Tribe concludes the regular season with five straight matches on the road. The road swing starts next weekend with a pair of match at Drexel on Friday, Oct. 16, and at Delaware on Sunday, Oct. 18. Kickoffs are set for 7:30 p.m., and 1 p.m. respectively.
