WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team opens the home portion of its schedule with a pair of matches this weekend at Albert-Daly Field at Martin Family Stadium. The Tribe hosts Maryland on Thursday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m., before welcoming DePaul Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m.
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.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
John Daly to discuss the victory at East Carolina, offensive strength, and the upcoming matches with Maryland and DePaul. The video preview is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary opens the home portion of its schedule with a pair of matches this weekend. The Tribe is looking to build off of a 3-0 victory at East Carolina in its season opener last Friday. W&M was selected to win the CAA in the preseason poll, while senior
Clara Logsdon, and juniors
Rachel Moore,
Sami Grasso, and
Elysse Branton all received preseason awards. Freshman
Sarah Segan and
Rachel Moore tallied goals in the win at East Carolina, while Grasso was credited with an assist. Redshirt junior
Grace Smith made her first career start in goal and made five saves in her first career shutout last weekend.
Scouting the Terrapins
Maryland heads to Williamsburg in search of its first win on Thursday night. The Terrapins lost 2-1 to TCU, before tying Gardner-Webb 1-1 in a pair of matches that went to overtime last weekend. The Terps had three players, Madison Turner, Rachel Egyed, and Cassie Phillips, who were named Players to Watch by the Big Ten. Chelsea Jackson has scored both of Maryland's goals this season, while Jion Flippens and Kady Badham have assists. Katelyn Jensen, Rachel Egyed, and Stephanie Senn have all seen action in goal already this season. Egyed has played in two matches, posting a 1.64 goals-against-average with six saves. Jensen started the opener, making a save in a scoreless first half, while Senn played 55 minutes making a save.
Scouting the Blue Demons
DePaul enters the weekend with a 0-0-1 record after drawing Fordham 1-1 in its season opener last Friday. The Blue Demons will host Northwestern on Thursday afternoon, before heading to the Colonial Capital. The team was selected to finish second in the Big East in the preseason poll. DePaul returns 2015 First-Team All-Big East player Alexa Ben, 2015 Big East Freshman of the Year Franny Cerny and Abby Reed, who all earned Preseason All-Big East honors. Reed scored the lone goal last weekend. Lauren Frasca started and played every minute in goal in the match. She made three stops and owns a 0.82 goals-against-average.
Series History vs. Maryland
W&M and Maryland meet for the 25th time in program history on Thursday night at Albert-Daly Field. W&M leads the all-time series 16-7-1, but Maryland picked up a 4-0 victory in the last meeting on Aug. 28, 2014. Then-freshman
Sami Grasso led the Tribe with three shots on-goal in the match.
Series History vs. DePaul
The Tribe will meet DePaul for the first time ever on Sunday afternoon in Williamsburg. The Blue Demons are the only team this season W&M will play for the first time.
What's Ahead
Next weekend, W&M continues its season with a road and home match. On Thursday, Sept. 1, the Tribe travels to Old Dominion for a 7 p.m. match, before hosting 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Virginia Tech on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m.
Home Openers
Since Martin Family Stadium opened in the 2011 season, William & Mary has posted a 2-1-2 record in home openers. That record includes a victory last year, and W&M hasn't loss a home opener since 2012 when they fell to No. 1 Duke.
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 four wins away from the mark, and enters the season with a career record of 396-158-53, which a .696 winning percentage.
Setting the Slate
W&M officially opened its 18-game schedule last week on the road at East Carolina, 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.
