WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's soccer team looks to continue its three-game winning streak and secure a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship as they make the league's Southern road swing this weekend. The Tribe travels to UNCW on Friday, Oct. 21, before heading to College of Charleston on Sunday, Oct. 23. Kickoffs are set for 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach John Daly to discuss the team's two victories last weekend, Sami Grasso's clutch goal scoring, and the upcoming matches at UNCW and College of Charleston. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking here.
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Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary (10-6-0, 4-3-0 CAA) looks to continue its three game winning streak and secure a berth in the 2016 CAA Women's Soccer Championship. The Tribe is coming off of a pair of 2-1 home triumphs over Delaware and Drexel. Redshirt freshman
Sarah Segan leads the Tribe offense with nine goals, two assist, and 20 points. Junior
Rachel Moore is second on the team with five goals, five assists, and 15 points, while classmate
Sami Grasso rounds out the double-figure point scorers with four goals, two assists, and 10 points. Ten players have already recorded at least one point this season for the Tribe. Redshirt junior
Grace Smith started the first eight matches earning a 5-3 record, a 1.11 goals-against-average, and four shutouts. Freshman
Katelyn Briguglio started the next two matches and has posted a 0.81 goals-against-average and two wins. Junior
Samantha Johnson has played the last 619 minutes in goal and has made 26 saves, with a 1.45 goals-against-average and 1.5 shutouts.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW enters the weekend looking to right the ship after falling in their last two matches last weekend. The Seahawks are 8-5-3, 2-3-2 in league action with just two games remaining. Serenity Waters leads the team with six goals, seven assists, and 19 points. Despite playing just the first four matches, Nikki Cox is still second on the team with six goals, an assist and 13 points, while Madison Melnick has recorded four goals, one assist, and nine points. Liisa Rahkola (eight appearances five starts) and Carolyn Huddy (11 starts) have split action in goal this season. Rahkola has a 0.81 goals-against-average with 14 saves and 1.5 shutouts. Meanwhile, Huddy has posted a 1.22 goals-against-average, 36 saves, and 4.5 shutouts.
Scouting the Cougars
The College of Charleston looks to build off of a victory over Towson last Sunday. The Cougars come into the weekend with a 10-6-1 record, and a 3-3-1 mark in the league and need wins to secure a berth in the tournament. Laura Ortega leads the attack with six goals, seven assists, and 19 points. Jessica Schifer is second on the team with 16 points, but leads the squad with seven goals and has added two assists, while Raymara Barreto rounds out the double-figure point scores with four goals, two assists, and 10 points. Lauren Killian has started 16 of the Cougars' 17 contests, while Bailie Fout has appered in three matches with a start. Killian owns a 1.07 goals-against-average with 64 saves, and six shutouts. In limited work, Fout has posted a 1.52 goals-against-average seven saves, and a victory.
Series History vs. UNCW
W&M travels to UNCW for the 25th meeting in series history on Friday night. The Tribe leads the all-time series by a 23-1-0 mark, including picking up a pair of 1-0 victories over the Seahawks last season with the second one coming in the CAA Finals. Senior
Clara Logsdon scored the game-winner in the regular season game, while
Katie Johnston had the winner in the CAA Semifinals.
Series History vs. College of Charleston
The Tribe heads to College of Charleston for the regular season finale in the fourth match in series history Sunday. All of the meetings have come since the Cougars joined the conference in 2013, and all three previous meetings have gone in favore of the Tribe, including last year's 1-0 victory. A season ago, senior
Katie Johnston scored the game-winning golden goal in overtime.
The Road Ahead
The results this weekend will determine the Tribe's seed in the 2016 CAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The Tribe needs a win this weekend to secure a berth in the event. If the Green and Gold finish with the 3-6 seed they will play at game at the higher seed on Sunday, Oct. 30. If the Tribe gets the 1 or 2 seed, they will get a bye into the semifinals. The semifinals and championship will take place at the regular season champion and played on Friday, Nov. 5 and Sunday, Nov. 7.
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All We Do Is Win
With the Tribe's 2-1 win over Drexel on Sunday afternoon the Tribe secured its 36th consecutive winning season. The 36 years serve as an NCAA record, and are every year of the program's existence.
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Grasso's Clutch Goals
Junior
Sami Grasso has scored two-game winning goals in the last three matches. Both goals came in the final 10 minutes of the match including an 80th minute goal against Hofstra and an 87th minute goal against Delaware.
Senior CLASS Award
Senior
Clara Logsdon was named one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS award last weekend. An acronym for
Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. It is the second straight season the Tribe has had a candidate for the award, as
Caroline Casey was named a First-Team Senior CLASS All-American last year.
Road Warriors
W&M closes the regular season with four of its last six matches on the road. It is the fourth consecutive season that the Green and Gold close out its regular season away from Williamsburg. The good news for the Tribe is that they have posted a 5-1 record away from Albert-Daly Field, and the only lost came in overtime.
Scoring Queen
Freshman
Charlotte Hyland burst onto the scoring scene in a big way in the CAA opener against James Madison last weekend. The rookie recorded three points on the night, including on the game-winning goal in just the seventh minute. She later added an assist on classmate
Sarah Segan's goal in the 14th minute.
Goalkeeper Shuffle
William & Mary has had to play three goalies due to injury this season, but all have performed well when called upon. Redshirt junior
Grace Smith started the first eight matches earning a 5-3 record, a 1.11 goals-against-average, and four shutouts. Freshman
Katelyn Briguglio started the next two matches and has posted a 0.81 goals-against-average and two wins. Junior
Samantha Johnson has played the last 619 minutes in goal and has made 26 saves, with a 1.45 goals-against-average and 1.5 shutouts.
400 Club
Head coach
John Daly, who is in his 30th season as the Tribe's head coach, became the sixth Division I coach and 13th NCAA coach to win his 400th career match with a 2-0 win at UNC Greensboro on Sunday, Sept. 11. W&M joins UCONN as the only other school that has had a 400-win coach in both their women's and men's programs. Former men coach
Al Albert won 401 matches in his 33-year career with the Green and Gold.
Weekly Awards
For the first time this season a pair of Tribe women's soccer players were honored with CAA weekly awards, as the College swept the awards. Redshirt junior
Grace Smith and redshirt freshman
Sarah Segan earned the player of the week and rookie of the week awards, respectively. Smith made 13 saves in a pair of shutouts last week, while Segan scored the game-winning goal in the match at VCU.
Segan Striking Early and Often
Freshman
Sarah Segan has gotten on the scoresheet nine times this season, and eight of the nine goals have come in the first half. Segan registered a goal in the 10th minute against East Carolina, in the second against Maryland, the 27-minute against VCU, the sixth against Marshall, the 14th minute against James Madison, the 37th minute against Northeastern, and in the seventh minute against Drexel.
Too Close for Comfort
All but four of the Tribe's 16 matches this season have been decided by a goal. The Tribe is 7-5 in those matches with wins over DePaul (2-1), Old Dominion (1-0 OT), VCU (1-0), Marshall (2-1), Hofstra (1-0), Delaware (2-1), Drexel (2-1), and setbacks to Maryland (3-2), Virginia Tech (2-1), High Point (3-2 OT), Towson (2-1), and Northeastern (3-2 OT). In the three matches that were decided by multiple goals the Green and Gold is 3-1.
Golden Goal
Sophomore
Mackenzie Kober registered her first career golden goal in the 94th minute, lifting W&M to a 1-0 win over Hampton Roads rival Old Dominion. The Tribe has since lost its last two overtime matches against High Point and at Northeastern, making them 1-2 in extra time.
First Half Furry
The Tribe has scored 20 of their 27 goals in the first half of matches this season. W&M has taken the lead first in all but two of its matches this season.
Pole Position
W&M was selected to win the CAA title by a vote of the league's 10 head coaches in the preseason poll. The Green and Gold, which won a share of last year's regular season crown and advanced to the CAA Championship match, received six of the possible nine first place votes and 76 points in the preseason poll. Defending CAA champion James Madison was picked just behind the Tribe with 73 points, while Hofstra was selected third with 69 points.
Connect Four
The Tribe had four players selected to the Preseason All-CAA teams. Senior
Clara Logsdon and junior
Rachel Moore each earned a spot on the All-CAA team, while juniors
Elysse Branton and
Sami Grasso picked up honorable mention honors.
Setting the Slate
W&M officially opened its 18-game schedule last week on the road at East Carolina, however, the Tribe will play 10 home games at Albert-Daly Field at Martin Family Stadium this fall. The home schedule includes a season-long five-game homestand from Sept. 15 to Oct. 2, which features High Point, Marshall, James Madison, Towson, and Elon. The 10 home games are the most since the 2010 season.
Familiar Faces
W&M returns six starters and 18 players from last year's team that went to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the 25th time in 35 seasons that the Tribe qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Instant Impact
The Tribe welcomes seven true freshmen, and a redshirt freshman to the roster for the 2016 campaign. Freshmen have had an instant impact with the Tribe, as W&M as had at least one All-Rookie team selection since the award's inception in 2004. Current Tribe players, senior
Clara Logsdon, juniors
Elysse Branton and
Rachel Moore, and sophomore
Mackenzie Kober were CAA All-Rookie selections earlier in their career.
Coming Home
Former All-CAA player
Emory Camper returns to the Tribe as she begins her coaching career with the Green and Gold. She finished her W&M playing career with 31 goals, 12 assists, and 72 points.
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