WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's soccer team opens up postseason play as they travel to UNCW for a CAA Quarterfinal match on Sunday, Oct. 30. Kickoff between the Tribe and the Seahawks is set for 2 p.m.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach John Daly to discuss last weekend at UNCW and Charleston, thoughts on the regular season, and the upcoming CAA Quarterfinal match at UNCW. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking here.
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Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary (10-7-1, 4-3-1 CAA) looks get back into the win column following a loss and tie in the final weekend of the regular season. The Tribe earned the No. 5 seed in the 2016 CAA Tournament. Redshirt freshman
Sarah Segan leads the Tribe offense with nine goals, two assists, and 20 points. Junior
Rachel Moore is second on the team with six goals, five assists, and 17 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, before returning to play the final 40 minutes of the regular season finale at Charleston. Smith posted a 5-3-1 record in the regular season, earning a 5-3 record, a 1.05 goals-against-average, and four shutouts. Freshman
Katelyn Briguglio started two matches and posted a 0.81 goals-against-average and two wins. Junior
Samantha Johnson has started the last eight matches, posting a 1.50 goals-against-average, 28 saves, and a shutout.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW enters the CAA Quarterfinals looking to move their winning streak to three matches after topping the Tribe and Elon last weekend. The Seahawks finished the regular season 10-5-3, 4-3-2 in league action and the No. 4 seed with the right to host Sunday's match. Serenity Waters leads the team with nine goals, seven assists, and 25 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 (nine appearances six starts) and Carolyn Huddy (12 starts) have split action in goal this season. Rahkola has a 0.83 goals-against-average with 14 saves and 1.5 shutouts. Meanwhile, Huddy has posted a 1.11 goals-against-average, 37 saves, and 5.5 shutouts, including last Friday's blanking of W&M.
Series History vs. UNCW
W&M travels to UNCW for the 26th meeting in series history on Sunday afternoon, and for the second straight season the teams will meet in the CAA Tournament. The Tribe leads the all-time series by a 23-2-0 mark, however the Seahawks blanked W&M 2-0 on October 21st. Serenity Waters and Brittany Cline each scored for UNCW in the match.
The Road Ahead
The winner of Sunday's match heads to Boston for the CAA Semifinals against top-seeded and host Northeastern. That match is set for Friday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
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.
Grasso's Clutch Goals
Junior
Sami Grasso has scored two-game winning goals in the last five 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.
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 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, before returning to play the final 40 minutes of the regular season finale at Charleston. Smith posted a 5-3-1 record in the regular season, earning a 5-3 record, a 1.05 goals-against-average, and four shutouts. Freshman
Katelyn Briguglio started two matches and posted a 0.81 goals-against-average and two wins. Junior
Samantha Johnson has started the last eight matches, posting a 1.50 goals-against-average, 28 saves, and a shutout.
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 five of the Tribe's 18 matches this season have been decided by a goal, or less. The Tribe is 7-5-1 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 regular season finale, the Tribe earned a 1-1 tie against Charleston. 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 lost in two overtime matches against High Point and at Northeastern, before tying Charleston. The Green and Gold has posted a 1-2-1 record 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 on the road at East Carolina, however, the Tribe played 10 home games at Albert-Daly Field at Martin Family Stadium this fall. The home schedule included a season-long five-game homestand from Sept. 15 to Oct. 2, which featured High Point, Marshall, James Madison, Towson, and Elon. The 10 home games are the most since the 2010 season.
Familiar Faces
W&M returned 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 welcomed 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 returned to the Tribe as she began 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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