HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – After a pair of thrilling victories to advance to the championship, the William & Mary men's soccer team dropped a tough 2-1 decision in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship match to No. 2 seeded Delaware in Hempstead, N.Y. Sunday afternoon. Senior Reilly Maw scored the Tribe's lone goal. With the decision the Tribe's record falls to 12-7-2, while the Blue Hens earned the league's automatic bid and improve 12-7-1.

"Congratulations to Delaware. They are an outstanding team, and we wish them well in the NCAA Tournament," head coach Chris Norris said. "Once again, I'm so proud of this group. They have been singularly focused on working to be the best they can be. Today, we fought hard and performed pretty well. However, sometimes against good teams, that still doesn't get you the result you desire. Like we've done all year, we will learn from this as we try to get better."
 
W&M broke through first on Maw's third goal of the CAA Tournament in the 18th minute. Sophomore defender Remi Frost served a long ball near midfield toward the attaching third. With Delaware goalkeeper Todd Morton coming off his line in an attempt to clear the service away, Maw beat him to the spot, flipping a header over the top of Morton from 10 yards out. The goal was Maw's seventh on the year, while the assist was the first of Frost's Tribe career.
 
Delaware pulled even on an own goal just two minutes later. Marco Siverio sent a pass from the left wing into the penalty area looking for CAA Player of the Year Guillermo Delgado. The ball instead deflected off the head of a Tribe defender and into the upper right corner of the goal to tie the contest at 1-1. 
 
The Blue Hens struck for a second time in an eight-minute stretch to move in front. Siverio played the ball wide down the left flank to Carlos Perales, who served it across the goal. The pass found the head of Jaime Martinez, and he finished with the head off the right post and into the back of the net at the 27:42 mark.
 
Marcel Berry weaved his way down the right wing and into the box in the 49th minute. The ball was briefly knocked away, and Berry gathered only have to his point-blank shot blocked by Morton.
 
The Tribe had a pair of chances in the 77th and 79th minute, but could not find the equalizer. On the initial chance, sophomore Ryder Bell broke down the middle of the pitch. He laid off a pass to freshman Reeves Trott, but his chance went high of the fame. Two minutes later, it was again Bell, this time with a shot from 25 yards out that was smothered by Morton.
 
Delaware held a slight advantage with a 12-9 lead in shots, which included a 7-5 lead in shots on-goal. Maw and Trott led the Tribe with a pair of shots apiece. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Breno made five saves in goal for W&M.
 
William & Mary placed three student-athletes on the all-tournament team. Maw, who scored three goals in the tournament was joined by sophomore Antonio Bustamante, who had two goals, and redshirt junior Riley Spain, who played every minute of the tournament.
 
Be sure to stay tuned to TribeAthletics.com for all news and information on Tribe men's soccer.