HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Senior
Reilly Maw scored a pair of goals and added an assist as the William & Mary men's soccer team topped No. 1-seed and host Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association Semifinals on Friday night in Hempstead, N.Y. With the win, the Tribe improves to 12-6-2 and advances to the CAA Championship on Sunday, while Hofstra falls 9-8-1.
"I'm very proud of the group tonight," head coach
Chris Norris said. "We worked hard for each other and stuck to the plan. Hofstra is a very good team, but I thought we performed very well tonight. We are thrilled to be playing again on Sunday."
After an early Hofstra corner kick, William & Mary took over on the attack. In the ninth minute Maw nearly missed an early goal. He snuck behind the Pride backline and fired a shot that was saved by a diving Alex Ashton.
The Tribe broke through with a 13th minute goal. Maw got on the end of a Pride turnover and sent sophomore
Antonio Bustamante free. The sophomore buried his shot from the top right of the 18 into the left side of the goal. His 10th goal of the season, and the third goal in as many games, gave W&M a 1-0 lead.
Hofstra began to look for the equalizer in what was a back and forth half following the goal. The Pride put three shots on frame in the half. Joseph Holland turned one on frame in the 37th minute, followed by Meshack Eshun Addy chance in the 40th minute, before Daniel Massey had a header shot in the 44th minute. All three chances were scooped up redshirt junior
Phil Breno.
The Pride was the aggressor to start the second half and fired the first two shots of the second half. Both Eshun Addy and Luke Brown missed high in the first 10 minutes of the period.
W&M just missed a chance to double its lead in the 55th minute. Sophomore
Ryder Bell created some space and fired a shot that beat the keeper, but had too much on it as it clanked off of the crossbar and bounced out of play.
The Green and Gold found its second goal in the 63rd minute. Redshirt junior
Riley Spain sprung Maw to the races down the left side. The senior launched his chance into the right corner of the net. His fifth of the season lifted the Tribe to a 2-0 lead.
Hofstra got within one in the 67th minute. Andreas Isoifides found Brown in the middle of the box. Brown's shot had just enough to get across the goalline. The tally stopped a 350-minute shutout streak for the Tribe.
W&M looked to extend back to a two-goal advantage in the 72nd minute. Maw found
Antonio Bustamante on a 2-on-1 break, but the sophomore's chance was saved by Ashton. The rebound bounced to Bell, on the left side of the box, but he pushed his shot wide right. Moments later, sophomore
Marcel Berry just missed another chance to give the Tribe a 3-1 lead. Berry found a clearance and fired a shot, but it was cleared off of the goalline by a Pride defender.
Maw and Spain worked their magic again and iced the match with a goal in the 86th minute with the team's third goal. Spain sent Maw free down the middle of the field and alone with keeper. Maw reached the box and fired his shot into the back of the net. His second marker of the night and sixth of the season made it 3-1.
The Pride had a few chances down the stretch, but only put one on target. That came in the 89th minute when Nino Alfonso fired, but Breno made the stop.
W&M held a 17-14 advantage in shots, including a 9-6 lead in shots on-goal. Bell led the team with five shots, while Maw added three of his own. Breno made five saves in his 11th win of the season.
The Green and Gold advances to the CAA Championship for the first time since the 2013 season as they will square off with No. 2 –seeded Delaware on Sunday, Nov. 13. The match will air live on the American Sports Network and kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
