WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's soccer team heads to top-seeded and host Hofstra on Friday, Nov. 11 for the Colonial Athletic Association Semifinals. Kickoff between the Tribe and the Pride is set for 7 p.m.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Chris Norris to discuss the team's CAA Quarterfinal win at Elon, the CAA Postseason Awards, and the upcoming CAA Semifinal at Hofstra. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
The No. 5-seeded William & Mary men's soccer team (11-6-2, 3-3-2 CAA) continues their quest for the CAA crown as they head to top-seeded and host Hofstra for a CAA Semifinal on Friday night. The Tribe is looking to move its winning streak to five games after posting wins over Charleston (3-2), VCU (4-0), Drexel (1-0), and Elon (1-0). Sophomores
Ryder Bell and
Antonio Bustamante have posted identical nine goals, four assists, and 22 point lines to lead the team in scoring. Junior
William Eskay is third on the team with four goals, seven assists, and 15 points. Senior
Reilly Maw (four goals, four assists) and freshman
Reeves Trott (five goals, two assists) each have 12 points, rounding out the double-figure scorers. Redshirt junior goalkeeper
Phil Breno has started 18 of the 19 matches while redshirt senior
Mac Phillips has appeared in two matches with a start. Breno owns a 1.11 goals-against average, with 53 saves, and seven shutouts. Phillips has a 0.79 goals-against-average, with four saves, and a shutout.
Scouting the Pride
Top seeded Hofstra finished the season with 9-7-1 record, and only dropped one game in league action going 7-1. The Pride got back into the win column in the final regular season with a 3-1 victory over Elon, snapping a three game skid. Luke Brown leads the attack scoring seven goals, two assists, and 16 points during his rookie season. Joseph Holland (three goals, eight assists) and Meshak Eshun Addy (six goals, two assists) are second on the team with 14 points, while Danny Elliott rounds out the double figure scores with six goals and 12 points. Three players have split action in goal for the Pride, but only tow have started matches. Alex Ashton has seen the run of play lately, appearing in 13 matches with nine starts, a 1.41 goals-against-average, and 21 saves. Lenoard Arkhanhelskyi has appeared in nine matches with eight starts, boasts a 0.95 goals-against-average, and two shutouts, while Brian Rubincacio has seen 24 minutes of action.
Series History vs. Hofstra
William & Mary and Hofstra meet for the 19th time in series history on Friday night. The Tribe leads the all-time series by a 9-7-3 margin, but the Pride has won the last three meetings, including a 2-1 victory earlier this season. Sophomore
Antonio Bustamante scored the Tribe's lone goal in the setback. This will be the third time the two teams have met in the CAA Postseason. The Tribe has won the previous two meetings, including the last win in the series 1-0 on Nov. 9, 2013.
The Road Ahead
The winner of Friday night's match will advance to the 2016 CAA Championship and take on the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2-seeded Delaware and No. 6-seeded College of Charleston. That match is set for Sunday, Nov. 13 and kickoff at 2 p.m. and be aired on the American Sports Network as well as CAA.TV.
On a Roll
With a win tonight, the Tribe would match its longest win streak of the season with five victories in a row. It is the first time since 2009 that the Tribe has put together a pair of win streaks of four, or more games, twice in a season. Previously, W&M won five games in a row from Aug. 9-Sept. 13, before suffering a heartbreaking overtime loss in the final second of double overtime versus Delaware. The five-game win streak is the team's longest since the team won seven in a row from Oct. 6-27, 2010. That season, the Green and Gold won the CAA regular season and tournament championship and advanced to the Third Round of the NCAA College Cup.
Bustamante's Big Time Goals
Sophomore
Antonio Bustamante has sent the Tribe home with a pair of 1-0 victories in his last two matches. His 89th minute tally against Drexel, all but secured a berth in the CAA Tournament, before his 18th minute marker at Elon stood up to send the team to the CAA Semifinals. He is tied for the team's lead with nine goals, four assists, and 22 points, while he leads the team with 1,650 minutes played this year.
Scoring in Bunches
The Green and Gold leads the CAA and ranks 10th in the NCAA with 1.95 goals per game this season. W&M had eight different players scored goals this season, including seven student-athletes with multiple goal seasons. Furthermore, the team's 37 goals ranks them seventh in the country.
Shutout Streak
W&M goalkeepers redshirt junior
Phil Breno and redshirt senior
Mac Phillips, and the Tribe defense have combined to shutout the last three opponents. The Green and Gold hasn't allowed a goal in the last 283 minutes of play. As a team, the Tribe has combined for eight shutout this seasons.
Going with Ngoh
Freshman
Julian Ngoh has seen an increased work rate of late appearing in each of the last seven matches and earning the starting nod against Michigan and No. 16 Virginia. On Wednesday, the rookie netted his first career goal in the 88th minute in a 4-0 victory over VCU.
Weekly Awards
Senior
Reilly Maw became the Tribe's fourth player to be named to a CAA Weekly award. He was tabbed the player of the week following a goal and an assist in a big conference win over Charleston. Previously, sophomore
Antonio Bustamante was named the CAA Player of the Week for the Week of Oct. 3, while freshman
Reeves Trott earned rookie of the week honors for the week of Sept. 5 and 12.
Scorching the Net at Home
The Tribe found the back of the net frequently at Albert-Daly Field this season. The Tribe combined to score 19 goals in the last five games at home, including a season-high seven at home against Northeastern. For the season, the Tribe has registered 26 goals in 11 games, or 2.4 per game.
Ring the Bell
In the Tribe's last five home games, sophomore
Ryder Bell registered six goals. In the 7-1 win over Northeastern, Bell scored in the seventh minute, before adding one in the 46th minute. Against Michigan on Oct. 15 the Moreland Hills, Ohio native scored in the 40th minute and the 86th minute, before adding a goal in the win over the College of Charleston, before adding the Tribe's second goal against VCU. During the stretch he has also been credited with two game-winning goals. He leads the team with nine goals, four assists, and 22 points.
Maw's Final Act
Senior
Reilly Maw came on strong during the final few regular season games of his senior season. In the win over Michigan, the Yorktown, Va. native registered two assists and a goal in the 4-0 win. He followed that up with an assist, and a game-winning goal in a crucial win over College of Charleston. Maw added an assist in the win over VCU to register eight points in the last five matches. He is tied for fourth on the team with four goals, four assists, and 12 points.
Tip of the Cap
Sophomore
Antonio Bustamante recorded his first career hat trick when he netted three goals in the win over Northeastern. It was the second time in as many years that a Tribe player recorded a hat trick as junior
William Eskay netted a hat trick in a win over Liberty on Sept. 1, 2015. Prior to Eskay's hat trick the last Tribe hat trick came from Nicholas Abrigo, who netted three goals in the CAA Championship on November 14, 2010 against Hofstra.
Seventh Heaven
William & Mary lit up the scoreboard for seven goals in a 7-1 win over Northeastern on Oct. 1. The seven goals were the most since W&M picked up a 7-0 win over Richmond on Sept. 23, 2009, and was the most against a CAA opponent since an 8-0 victory over UNCW in the 2000 CAA Tournament. It also is tied for the second-most goals in Albert-Daly Field history. The seven markers were the most goals for a CAA team since Delaware scored seven versus Howard on Oct. 23, 2013.
Five for Fighting
The Tribe scored five unanswered goals in the second half to take a 5-1 victory at Campbell on Saturday night. It was the most goals W&M has scored in a single match since the 2013 CAA Semifinals when the Green and Gold picked up a 6-3 victory over UNCW. The five markers were the most in any half Nov. 9, 2000 wen they beat UNCW 8-0. It was the most second half wins since the Green and Gold scored six in 9-0 victory over Delaware on Sept. 8, 2000.
Off on the Right Foot
The Tribe has taken the first lead in 12 of its 19 matches, so far this season. W&M netted its fastest start of the season with a goal 18 seconds into the match against VCU, when senior
Jeff Bombelles redirected a rebound into the back of the net. Earlier in the season W&M got on the board before the 10-minute mark in the first two games. Junior
William Eskay scored in the fifth minute against George Washington, before sophomore
Ryder Bell tallied in the eighth minute against Coastal Carolina.
Ranked Victories
With its win over No. 21 Coastal Carolina, the W&M men's soccer team has defeated a ranked opponent in seven of the last eight seasons. That includes a stretch of at least one ranked win from 2009-13. The Green and Gold also defeated a pair of No. 1 teams in a 10-day span back in 2013.
Record Versus Non-Conference Opponents
The Tribe played three games against Big South (3-0), which is the most of any conference aside from the CAA. W&M plays against the ACC (0-2) and Atlantic 10 (1-1) twice, and have games against the Sun Belt (1-0), Big East (1-0), and Big Ten (1-0). W&M posted a 7-3 record in non-conference play this season.
Rated Rookie
Now sophomore
Marcel Berry became just the third player in school history to be named the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2015. However that was not where the awards stopped. He was named the No. 46 best freshman by TopDrawerSoccer.com and was a Third-Team Freshman All-American by College Soccer News. Berry appeared 17 games with 15 starts, scoring three goals, four assists, and 10 points.
Summer Championship
Sophomore
Ryder Bell helped his summer team AFC Cleveland to the NPSL championship this summer. Bell scored a goal to ice the victory in stoppage time. He finished the summer with two goals and four points, but also added a pair of goals in a friendly.
New Kids on the Block
The Green and Gold has five true freshman on the roster in
Ricardo Acosta,
Julian Ngoh,
Daniel McBride,
Tanner Shane, and
Reeves Trott. Along with the freshman, W&M welcomes transfers redshirt junior
Phil Breno (UMBC) and redshirt freshman
Hristo Bustamante (George Mason). Every new comer except one has seen action this season.
