WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team closes the regular season as they host Towson for Senior Day at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Sunday, Oct. 22. Kickoff between the Tribe and the Tigers is set for 1 PM.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
John Daly to discuss last week's split results, the senior class, and the upcoming match with Towson. The video feature is availalbe through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (6-9-2, 2-4-2 CAA) looks to get back in the win column as it closes its regular season by hosting Towson on Sunday afternoon. The Tribe comes off of its CAA bye week on Thursday after seeing its three match unbeaten streak come to an end at Northeastern last Sunday. Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan leads the Tribe with 16 points on seven goals and two assists and has scored in four goals in the last five games. Senior
Sami Grasso is just off of the pace with three goals, four assists, and has 10 points, while classmate
Elysse Branton has three goals, three assists, and nine points. The Tribe has played three goalies this season – senior
Samantha Johnson, sophomore
Katelyn Briguglio, and redshirt senior
Grace Smith. Smith has seen the most action in goal making seven consecutive starts. She owns a 2.00 goals-against-average, 45 saves, and a shutout. Johnson has come on in relief in the last two contests and has now seen action in three contests with a start, posting 1.39 goals-against-average, and two saves.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson (5-10-3, 2-5-1 CAA) looks to move its unbeaten streak to three as it closes the regular season in Williamsburg on Sunday. The Tigers tied Northeastern (0-0) after beating UNCW (1-0). Maddie Bove leads the offense scoring five goals, three assists, and 13 points. She is the lone player in double-figure points, but McKenzie McCaull - two goals, four assists, and eight points – is just off of the pace. Taylor Sebalao has played every minute in goal this season for the Tigers. She has posted a 1.10 goals-against-average, 114 saves, and six shutouts.
Series History vs. Towson
W&M and Towson meet for the 15th time in series history on Sunday in Williamsburg. The Tribe leads the all-time series 11-2-2, but dropped a 2-1 decision to the Tigers at Albert-Daly Field. Junior
Mackenzie Kober scored in the 27th minute, but Towson scored two unanswered goals in the second half to pick up the road win.
What's Ahead
Sunday marks the end of the regular season for the Tribe women's soccer team. W&M is still eligible to make the 2017 CAA Tournament, which would start on the road. The Tribe would make the tournament with a win and an Elon loss or tie or a Charleston loss. Be sure to check TribeAthletics.com for an updated women's soccer schedule.
Senior Salute
Following Sunday's match, the Tribe will honor its eight seniors –
Elysse Branton,
Sami Grasso,
Samantha Johnson,
Haley Kent,
Adrienne Maday,
Rachel Moore,
Devon Peck, and
Grace Smith. The group as won 42 games, appeared a CAA Championship match, and the 2015 NCAA Tournament, which advanced to the second round.
Grasso is Getting it Going
Senior
Sami Grasso has scored goals in two of the last four games for W&M. She found the back of the net to tie to score versus Elon on Oct. 5, before scoring the game-winning goal on Oct. 12 at UNCW. For the third straight season, Grasso is now in double-figures for points, scoring three goals, four assists, and 10 points this season. Grasso has played in 75 career games with 67 starts, scoring 13 goals, 11 assists, and 37 points.
Makes You Want to Stay
Three of the Tribe's last six games have gone to overtime. The Tribe is 1-0-2 in overtime this season, earning draws against College of Charleston (0-0) and Elon (2-2), before topping Delaware (2-1).
Golden Goal
Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan recorded the Tribe's first golden goal of the season on Oct. 8 against Delaware. Senior
Haley Kent won the ball and a dangerous area, before sending a pass to Segan, who buried the winner in the 102nd minute, to lift W&M to a 2-1 over Delaware.
Weekly Awards
The Tribe has had three players honored by the CAA with weekly awards. This week redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan was named the CAA Player of the Week after scoring the equalizer in the draw at Elon on Thursday and scoring both goals in the win against Delaware on Sunday. Sophomore
Charlotte Hyland was CAA Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 28. Hyland registered her first career hat trick in the win over Bucknell after firing two shots in 75 minutes versus Fairleigh Dickinson. Previously, freshman
Erin Dailey took home W&M first weekly award of the season by being named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the week of Aug. 21. The freshman scored the game-winning goal against Providence, earned a pair of starts, and played 131 minutes in the midfield in the Tribe's win over Providence and Boston College.
National Honor Rolls in for the Tribe
Sophomore
Charlotte Hyland was also tabbed to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for her effort against Bucknell. It was the first time the Tribe has had a player honored on that team since Nicole Baxter in 2015. Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan earned honorable mention for the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week following her three goal week against Elon and Delaware.
Segan Scores Early, Often
Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan has been racking up the goal numbers since joining the Tribe last season. In 31 career games, she has already scored 17 goals. This season, the Fogelsville, Pa. native has scored seven goals, including two in the wins against Fairleigh Dickinson and Delaware. Of Segan's 17 career goals, 11 have come in the first half.
Keeping Up with Kober
Junior
Mackenzie Kober scored her first goal of the season in the 40th minute of the match against Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. Kober, who was a preseason honorable mention pick and 2015 CAA All-Rookie Team selection, has scored seven career goals, six assists, and 20 points.
First Career Points
Sophomore
Sully Boulden recorded her first career point when she earned an assist on
Mackenzie Kober's goal in the 40th minute against Wisconsin. Earlier this season, freshman
Erin Dailey scored her first career goal and points as she netted the first goal of the season against Providence.
First Career Starts
The Tribe has had seven players make their first career start this season. Sophomore
Sully Boulden earned her first career start against Maryland, before freshman
Mariana Hershner picked up the starting nod at DePaul. Junior
Arundel Miguelez started for the first time against UNC Greensboro. Freshman
Courtney Miles joined the group getting the nod against James Madison. Rookie
Alex Kuhnle was the last player to earn her first career start as she got the nod in the draw versus Charleston. Earlier this season, freshman
Erin Dailey and redshirt freshman
Lauren Kelly made their first career starts in the season opener against Providence.
Tip of the Cap
Sophomore
Charlotte Hyland registered her first career hat trick in the team's win over Bucknell on Sunday, Aug. 27. It was the first Tribe hat trick since Samantha Cordum accomplished the feat in a 3-1 win over Northeastern on Sept. 27, 2015.
We Want Moore
Senior
Rachel Moore has been named to an All-CAA team following each of the her three previous seasons. An All-CAA Preseason selection, she has scored three goals and two assists for eight points this season. Moore has appeared in 77 games (most active) with 73 starts. Moore has notched 18 goals, 14 assists, and 50 points.
Bank on Branton
Senior
Elysse Branton has been a mainstay in the Tribe's lineup for her entire career, but has enjoyed a very strong final season in terms of points. Branton has set a career-high with three goals and nine points. Against Fairleigh Dickinson, she recorded her first multi-point night of her career when she scored the first goal, before assisting on the game-winner. The Sterling, Va. native has played in 75 career matches with 70 starts, and has added five goals, 10 assists, and 20 points.
Five for Fighting
The Green and Gold was well represented in the league's preseason all-conference awards, receiving a CAA-high five honorees. Seniors
Elysse Branton and
Rachel Moore as well as sophomore
Sarah Segan highlighted the awards with 2017 Preseason All-CAA honors, while senior
Haley Kent and junior
Mackenzie Kober earned honorable mention citations.
Familiar Faces
The Tribe welcomes back 21 players from last season's roster and including a good bulk of its scoring. W&M returns 80-percent of its goals and 90.5-percent of its points scorers from last year. The Tribe also returns its top five point scorers from last season.
Fresh Faces
Despite only losing four players from last year's roster, W&M welcomes 11 newcomers to the roster for the 2017 season. The Tribe welcomes one transfer – redshirt freshman
Lauren Kelly – and 10 true freshmen,
Meredith Beam,
Lorena Bugden,
Erin Dailey,
Page Frantz,
Sarah Haggerty,
Kelsey Hamer,
Mariana Hershner,
Alex Kuhnle,
Colleen Norton, and
Sophia Sanie.
Welcome Home
Former Tribe women's soccer player
Marsha Lycan '87 returns to Williamsburg as an assistant coach for the 2017 season. She appeared in 59 games for the Green and Gold, while she scored 12 goals, recorded seven assists, and 31 points. She helped the Tribe to the 1983 Division I ECAC Championship, before leading Tribe to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 1984-86. Lycan graduated from W&M with a degree psychology in 1987.
