WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team opens the regular season as they travel to East Carolina on Friday, Aug. 19. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
John Daly to discuss the start of a new season, being picked No. 1 in the CAA Preseason Poll, and the upcoming match with East Carolina. The video preview is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
The William & Mary women's soccer program will celebrate its 35th year of existence and will play its 36th season this year. The College has never had a losing record, and holds an NCAA record with 35 consecutive winning seasons. W&M was selected to win the championship by a vote of league's head coaches. W&M also had four players honored with preseason awards in senior
Clara Logsdon and juniors
Elysse Branton,
Sami Grasso, and
Rachel Moore. Redshirt junior
Grace Smith earned the start in goal of the exhibition playing nearly 75 minutes. Freshman Kaitlyn Briguglio followed as a reserve in the match. Both players made a save in the 5-0 shutout victory over Liberty.
Scouting the Pirates
East Carolina also opens the regular season on Friday against W&M. The Pirates finished 2015 8-10-2, and were selected to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference in 2016. ECU retunrs its top goal and point scorer from last year in Preseason All-AAC pick Lana Spitler. She finished last season with six goals, four assists, and 16 points. Saundra Baron, who started every game in goal last season, also returns for the Pirates. She sported a 1.25 goals-against-average, 91 saves, and nine shutouts in 2015.
Series History
William & Mary and East Carolina meet for the 11th time in program history on Friday night. The Tribe holds an 8-1-1 record over the Pirates, including a 3-0 victory last year in Williamsburg. The Tribe scored three first half goals from
Elysse Branton,
Katie Johnston, and
Barbara Platenberg on the way to the victory.
What's Ahead
The Green and Gold opens it's home portion of the schedule with a pair of games next weekend at Martin Family Stadium at Albert Daly Field. The Tribe will host the Big Ten's Maryland on Thursday, Aug. 25, and then welcome the Big East's DePaul on Sunday, Aug. 28. Kickoffs are set for 7 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively. On Thursday night if the attendance reaches 750 fans, all fans in attendance will receive $15 off coupon to Anna's Brick Oven Pizza. The first 150 students will also receive a free Tribe women's soccer schedule T-shirt.
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.
Closing in on an Impressive Milestone
Head coach
John Daly, who is entering his 30th season as the Tribe's head coach, is closing in on his 400th career victory. He is just five wins away from the mark, and enters the season with a career record of 395-158-53, which a .696 winning percentage.
Setting the Slate
W&M official opens its 18-game schedule next week on the road at East Carolina on Friday, Aug. 19. However, the Tribe will play 10 home games at Albert-Daly Field at Martin Family Stadium this fall. The home schedule includes a season-long five-game homestand from Sept. 15 to Oct. 2, which features High Point, Marshall, James Madison, Towson, and Elon. The 10 home games are the most since the 2010 season.
Familiar Faces
W&M returns 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 welcomes 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 returns to the Tribe as she begins her coaching career with the Green and Gold. She finished her W&M playing career with 31 goals, 12 assists, and 72 points.
