WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's soccer team heads to Boston to take on top-seeded and host Northeastern in the 2016 CAA Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 4. Kickoff between the Tribe and the Huskies is set for 5:30 p.m.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
John Daly to talk about the CAA Quarterfinal tie against UNCW, the CAA postseason awards, and the upcoming CAA Semifinal at Northeastern. The video preview is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
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Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary (10-7-2, 4-3-1 CAA) looks to move its unbeaten streak to three matches as they travel to Boston for the CAA Semifinals. The Tribe earned the No. 5 seed in the 2016 CAA Tournament and advanced to the semis by toping UNCW 5-4 in PKs after a 2-2 draw. Redshirt freshman
Sarah Segan leads the Tribe offense with 10 goals, two assists, and 22 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 and starting and playing the entire at UNCW. Smith posted a 5-3-2 record in the regular season, a 1.12 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 Huskies
Northeastern earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the semifinals and championship after posting a 12-6-1 record and a 7-2 league mark. The Huskies, which have been off for 12 days when they play Friday night will look to move its winning streak to three games. Hannah Rosenblatt leads the attack with 11 goals, four assists, and 26 points. Kayla Cappuzzo is second on the team with five goals, and five assists, while Hannah Lopiccolo rounds out the double-figure point scorers with four goals, three assists, and 11 points. Nathalie Nidetch has started all 19 matches for the Huskies, while Jill Quinn has come on in relief in two contests. Nidetch owns a 1.09 goals-against-average, 90 saves, and five shutouts.
Series History vs. Northeastern
W&M and Northeastern meet for the second time this season and for the 15th time in series history in the CAA Semifinals. Thanks to the Huskies win earlier this season the series is now tied at 5-5-4. Junior
Rachel Moore and redshirt freshman
Sarah Segan scored in the first half, but Hannah Rosenblattt scored twice in the second half, before Carina Deandreis found the winner in overtime for NU. It is also the third time in the last four seasons that these two teams have met in the CAA Semifinals. W&M and Northeastern played to a 2-2 draw with the Huskies advancing on PKs in 2013 in Harrisonburg, Va., before NU picked up a 4-0 victory in Boston in 2014.
The Road Ahead
The winner of Friday's match will advance to Sunday afternoon CAA Championship match. The game will air live on the American Sports Network and will kickoff at 2 p.m.
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Making the Semifinals
After missing the CAA Tournament following the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the Tribe women's soccer team has qualified for the league semifinals every year since. The Tribe is 2-3 in semifinal games since 2011.
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Hello, Again
W&M played the five other teams that qualified for the CAA Tournament in the regular season, posting a 2-2-1 record. However with Northeastern, Drexel, and James Madison remaining the Tribe's record is 2-1. The only loss came at the hands of semifinal opponent Northeastern.
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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.
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 and starting and playing the entire at UNCW. Smith posted a 5-3-2 record in the regular season, a 1.12 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 10 times this season, and nine of the 10 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, in the seventh minute against Drexel, and in the 17th minute at UNCW.
Too Close for Comfort
All but five of the Tribe's 19 matches this season have been decided by a goal, or less. The Tribe is 7-5-2 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). The last two games W&M has earned draws tying CofC in the regular season finale and UNCW in the CAA Quarterfinals. In the five matches that were decided by multiple goals the Green and Gold is 3-2.
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 and UNCW. The Green and Gold has posted a 1-2-2 record in extra time.
First Half Furry
The Tribe has scored 21 of their 29 goals in the first half of matches this season. W&M has taken the lead first in all but four 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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