Scouting the Tribe
W&M forged a 1-1 tie with Delaware in a rematch of last season's CAA Championship on Sunday. Sophomore
Reeves Trott headed home of the equalizer in the 83rd minute, scoring for the second time in as many games. Classmate
Julian Ngoh set up the play with a run down the right wing, beating a defender with his touch and pace, before lofting a cross into the penalty area that perfectly found the head of Trott. The Green and Gold sits at 4-4-3 overall and 0-2-2 in the CAA. Earlier last week, the Tribe rallied from a two-goal deficit in the opening 23 minutes to take a 3-2 lead at JMU, before falling 4-3. Junior
Antonio Bustamante converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute to cut the gap to one at the half. Senior
William Eskay and Trott each scored in the span of six minutes in the early stages of the second half to put the Tribe on top. Unfortunately, JMU answered with goals in the 64th and 70th minutes to pull out the victory. Eskay and Bustamante lead W&M with nine points apiece. Bustamante tops the team in goals (4), while Eskay and junior
Ryder Bell each have three assists. The Tribe continues to lead the CAA in shots (12.9) and corner kicks (6.3) per game, while ranking second in assists (15) and third in goals (15). Senior goalkeeper
Phil Breno has played every minute in goal for the Green and Gold, sporting a goals against average of 1.21 to go with four shutout and 28 saves. Three of the Tribe's four setbacks (North Carolina, UNCW and Michigan) this season have come to teams currently ranked among the national top 30 in the four major men's college soccer polls.
Scouting Northeastern
The Huskies enter Saturday's matchup at 2-7-2 on the year and have dropped four of their last five games, including a pair of CAA contests. NU is coming off a 2-1 setback to Hartford at home on Tuesday. Northeastern equalized on a Harry Swartz goal in the 56th minute, but fell despite outshooting the Hawks, 18-8. The Huskies are 1-2-1 in the league. They opened with a 1-0 overtime win over Charleston at home. NU owns a tie at Hofstra along with setbacks to Delaware, 1-0, and at Drexel, 2-1, in OT on Saturday. Northeastern has scored seven goals in its 11 games, led by Swartz's three. Lewis Aird, who assisted on the goal vs. Hartford, tops NU with three assists. Defensively, the Huskies have allowed 14 goals. Jonathan Thuresson has played nearly every minute in goal, posting a goals against average of 1.13 to go with 49 saves and a shutout.
Series History: W&M vs. Northeastern
- The Tribe leads the all-time series at 7-2-4 overall, including a 2-1-2 margin in Boston. The Green and Gold hold a 23-13 advantage in scoring in the 16 previous meetings. W&M has won three of the last four contests between the teams.
- Last season, W&M rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Huskies in Williamsburg as part of Carpolfest.
Antonio Bustamante notched a hat trick and added an assist, while both
Ryder Bell and
Marcel Berry scored two goals apiece. Berry and
William Eskay tallied a pair of assists in the win.
- Northeastern won the last meeting in Boston, downing the Tribe 2-1 in 2015. The teams scored all three goals in in the games final 4:30. Berry tallied the lone W&M tally, while both Eskay and
Riley Spain added an assist.
Overtime Success
- The Tribe has enjoyed success in overtime this season, going 2-0-2 in games played beyond 90 minutes.
- W&M's first victory of the season came in overtime at home against N.C. State. Sophomore
Julian Ngoh headed home a cross from junior
Remi Frost in the 93rd minute to lift the Green and Gold. The goal, which came 2:12 into OT, was the fastest for the Tribe since Price Thomas tallied the game-winner at George Mason just 29 seconds into the extra period in 2008.
- The Green and Gold dominated possession and scoring chances at Longwood, before junior
Antonio Bustamante's 98th minute game-winner on Sept. 20. Senior
William Eskay set up the play, turning a quick counter into a dangerous run, before leading Bustamante on the breakaway.
- The Tribe played both Drexel, 0-0, and Delaware, 1-1, to draws after a scoreless 20 minutes of extra soccer. W&M outshot Drexel, 3-1, before outshooting the Blue Hens, 2-0, in overtime.
Tribe Earns Academic Award
- The Green and Gold earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2016-17 academic year. It marks the fifth time in the last six years that the Tribe has earned the accolade and sixth overall.
- The Tribe was one of 282 men's teams across all levels (DI, DII, DIII and NAIA) to post a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, including one of 103 Division I programs and one of five CAA teams. The Green and Gold recorded a team GPA of 3.06 to earn the accolade.
- Coupled with the women's soccer team earning the distinction, W&M was one of 195 schools nationally to have both men's and women's programs honored.
Individuals the CAA Rankings
- Junior
Antonio Bustamante and senior
William Eskay are tied for second in the CAA in points with nine apiece.
- Bustamante is tied for the league lead in shots (32), while coming in second in goals (4).
- Eskay is second in assists (3), third in goals (3) and fourth in shots (29).
- Junior
Ryder Bell, who had two assists for the second time in his career at James Madison, ranks second in the CAA with three assists and is sixth in points (7).
- Sophomore
Reeves Trott ranks third in the CAA in goals (3) and sixth in points (7).
Boost-amante
- Junior
Antonio Bustamante has given W&M a boost recently, scoring goals in four of the last six matches. He has tallied a point in five of the Green and Gold's last eight contests dating back to Sept. 5 at George Washington.
- He was named the CAA Player of the Week on Sept. 18 after tallying goals at No. 7 North Carolina and in the home win over Campbell. It was the second weekly league award of his career.
- On Sept. 20, Bustamante tallied the golden goal in the 98th minute on the road at Longwood. It was his fourth career game-winner.
- In the preseason, he was one of 31 players nationally to be named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Bustamante was also the preseason CAA Player of the Year.
Up Next
The Tribe returns to Williamsburg to open up a three-game homestand on Wednesday, Oct. 11, against Elon. The match carries a 7 p.m. start time and will be broadcast on Tribe Athletics TV.
