WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team returns home as they open its lone two-game CAA homestand on Thursday, Sept. 28 when they welcome to College of Charleston. Kickoff between the Tribe and the Cougars is set for 7 p.m.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
John Daly to discuss the team's first CAA weekend, the scoring drought, and the upcoming match with Charleston. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (4-7, 0-2 CAA) looks to get back in the win column as they open a two-game CAA homestand this weekend. The Tribe welcome College of Charleston on Thursday, before hosting Hofstra on Sunday. Redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan leads the Tribe with seven points on three goals and an assist. Sophomore
Charlotte Hyland is just off of the pace scoring three goals and six points, while senior
Sami Grasso has six points on a goal and four assists. The Tribe has played three goalies this season – senior
Samantha Johnson, sophomore
Katelyn Briguglio, and redshirt senior
Grace Smith. Sophomore
Katelyn Briguglio has seen the most action in goal playing in six matches, owns a 1.43 goals-against-average, 19 saves, and has won three matches. Smith has started and played all of the last five matches.
Scouting the Cougars
College of Charleston (5-4. 0-1 CAA) heads to Williamsburg looking for its first CAA win on Thursday night. The Cougars have won two of their last three, but fell to defending league champion Northeastern (3-0) the last time out. Lauren Oretega leads the attack for Charleston with three goals, four assists, and 10 points. Alyssa Beck is just off of the pace with three goals, one assist, and seven points, while Katrina Koomen has two goals, one assist, and five points. Genevieve Henderson and Maggie Berlin have each seen action goal this season for the Cougars. However, Henderson has started all nine matches, posting a 1.27 goals-against-average, 43 saves, and four shutouts.
Series History vs. Charleston
W&M and College of Charleston meet for the fifth time in series history, all since the Cougars joined the CAA in 2013. The Tribe leads all-time series 3-0-1, with the lone tie coming a season ago. Last year, senior
Rachel Moore converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to tie the score in the regular season finale for both teams.
What's Ahead
The Tribe closes its homestand as they welcome Hofstra to Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Sunday, Oct. 1. Kickoff between the Tribe and Pride is set for 2 p.m.
Scoring Drought
W&M has been shutout in the last five matches. It has been 500 minutes of game time since the Tribe has scored its last goal, which came in the 40th minute when junior
Mackenzie Kober scored versus Wisconsin.
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 a player make her first career start in four of the last five contests. 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. On Thursday night, freshman
Courtney Miles joined the group getting the nod against James Madison. Earlier this season, freshman
Erin Dailey and redshirt freshman
Lauren Kelly made their first career starts in the season opener against Providence.
Weekly Awards
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 Hyland
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.
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 a goal for two points this season. Moore has appeared in 71 games (most active) with 69 starts. Moore has notched 16 goals, 13 assists, and 45 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 start to her final season in terms of points. Branton has already set a career-high with two goals and five 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 69 career matches with 64 starts, and has added four goals, eight assists, and 16 points.
Slated for Second
The William & Mary women's soccer team was selected to finish second in the CAA in the 2017 CAA Preseason Poll voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Defending champion Northeastern was selected to repeat, while Drexel and James Madison were selected in a tie for third, Hofstra (fifth), UNCW (sixth), College of Charleston (seventh), Delaware (tied for eighth), Elon (tied for eighth), and Towson (10th) rounded out the poll behind the Tribe.
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.
