Scouting the Tribe
- W&M evened its CAA record at 2-2-2 and is closing in on a league tournament berth following its 2-1 victory over Drexel on Oct. 20. Overall, the Tribe is 4-8-2 on the year.
- In the win over the Dragons, the Tribe took a 1-0 lead on junior
Cole Smith's first career goal in the 27th minute. After Drexel pulled even on a set piece goal, senior
Graham Guidry provided the game-winner just over a minute before halftime.
- The goal was Guidry's second of the year and fourth of his career. All four of his career markers have been game-winners.
- The victory over the Dragons was the second-straight in CAA play for W&M following a 1-0 road win at Delaware on Oct. 13. Senior
Ryder Bell found classmate
Antonio Bustamante for the game-winner in the 88th minute, while the Tribe defense posted the shutout behind fifth-year senior
Sam Onyeador's career-high five saves.
- Bustamante has registered a point in four of the Tribe's last six matches. He leads the team with 15 points on four goals and seven assists. His assist total ranks 19th nationally, and he is 16th in the country in shots per game (3.9). Bustamante leads the CAA in assists and ranks fourth in points.
- After missing three matches due to injury, senior
Ryder Bell returned to the Tribe lineup as a reserve against Northeastern on Oct. 6 and netted the equalizer in the 63rd minute. On the year, Bell leads the Tribe and ranks eighth in the CAA with five goals in 11 matches. He is also ninth in the league in points (12).
- Bustamante and Bell both rank among the NCAA Division I active leaders in points, goals and assists. Bustamante is fourth in career points (85), eighth in goals (34) and 27th in assists (17), while Bell is 13th in points (75), 18th in goals (28) and 19th in assists (19).
- Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Sam Onyeador, who missed last season due to injury, has started the Tribe's last six matches. He currently ranks ninth in the CAA in goals against average (1.77) and third in saves per game (3.57).
- Head coach
Chris Norris was named the W&M Alumni Association Coach of the Year at the Fall Awards Banquet in September. Norris won his third honor after guiding W&M to its eighth CAA Championship and 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. He was also named the VaSID State Coach of the Year. The three W&M Alumni Association awards are tied for the most with long-time head football coach
Jimmye Laycock.
- Bustamante, the CAA preseason Player of the Year, was one of 32 players named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List on Aug. 9. A consensus All-American in 2017, he was named a preseason First Team All-American by Soccer America, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News.
Scouting the Seahawks
- UNCW enters the weekend at 11-3-2 overall, including 4-0-2 in CAA play. The Seahawks saw its five-match unbeaten streak ended in overtime to Coastal Carolina, 2-1, in Wilmington on Wednesday night.
- Wilmington is currently ranked No. 10 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches National Top 25, No. 12 according to College Soccer News and No. 21 by Top Drawer Soccer. UNCW is the No. 1-ranked team in the Atlantic Region.
- UNCW drew with Delaware, 2-2, in its last CAA match on Saturday at home. Last week, they also posted a 3-0 home win over No. 21-ranked NC State.
- UNCW's other losses on the year came to Fairfield, 2-1, and at No. 3 North Carolina, 1-0.
- The Seahawks rank 12th nationally in scoring offense at 2.25 goals per game. Defensively, they are 11th in shutout percentage (.563) and 15th in team goals against average (0.67).
- The Seahawks offense is led by sophomore Emil Elveroth and junior Phillip Goodrum. Both players ranked among the top 15 nationally in points and goals.
- Elveroth leads the CAA in both goals (11) and points (27), while ranking 14th and 10th nationally. His five game-winning goals are eighth in the country. Goodrum is tied with his teammate in goals (11) and ranked second in the league in points (26), coming in 14th and 12th in those categories nationally.
- Senior Ryan Cretens has started all 16 matches, posting a 0.70 CAA, which ranks 19th nationally. He owns 46 saves and seven shutouts. As a team, UNCW has posted nine clean sheets.
Series History: W&M vs. UNCW
- W&M leads the all-time series with UNCW at 35-6-5, including a 15-1-4 mark in Wilmington The Green and Gold has outscored the Seahawks, 135-46, in the 46 all-time meetings.
- The Tribe's last trip to UNCW in 2016 ended in a 1-1 draw on a
Ryder Bell goal in the 24th minute. In fact, W&M's last two matches against the Seahawks in Wilmington have ended in draws.
- Last season, the teams split matches. The Seahawks picked up a 2-1 win over W&M in Williamsburg thanks to a pair of second-half goals during the regular season. The Tribe posted a 4-2 victory in the CAA Championship match. W&M scored four second-half goals in the title match, including three from
Antonio Bustamante. Bell had two assists in the CAA title match, while
Julian Ngoh added a goal.
- Five the UNCW's six wins in the series have come since 2008. Over that stretch, they hold a slim 5-4-3 advantage.
Bell Named a Finalist for Senior CLASS Award
- Senior
Ryder Bell was one of 10 men's soccer student-athletes from across the country to be named a finalist for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
- An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
- The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the
Senior CLASS Award website through Nov. 18, 2018. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.
- The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships later this fall.
- Bell is a two-time All-CAA selection, including first team honors last season, a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team selection and a three-time Virginia Sports Information Director's All-State Second Team selection. He ranks among the top 20 among active NCAA Division I players in points, goals and assists.
- An economics major with a minor in marketing, Bell became the 10th W&M men's soccer player to be named a Google Cloud/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American, earning third-team honors in 2017. He was named the 2018 winner of W&M's prestigious Bruce Davidson Memorial Scholarship.
- Within the Williamsburg community, Bell and the W&M soccer program have been heavily involved with Child Development Resources (CDR). CDR strives to inspire and empower children, families and early childhood professionals to reach their full potential, whatever their challenges, and serves approximately 1,200 children and their families each year. He has volunteered with CDR and tutored Math at Hornsby Middle School.
In the Record Books
- Senior
Antonio Bustamante moved into the Tribe's all-time top 10 in both points (85) and goals (34) this season.
- In W&M's 2-2 draw with Northeastern, Bustamante scored his 33rd career goal to move into 10th place on the program's career goals list.
- He is now just one away from ninth and two shy of fifth (four players currently tied for fifth with 36 goals) on the career list.
- In the Tribe's 3-2 win over Longwood on Sept. 11, the senior midfielder moved into 10th on the career points list. He current sits at No. 10 with 85 points (34 goals and 17) and trails ninth by two and eighth by three.
- With his goal at Delaware, Bustamante notched his eighth career game-winning goal, which ranks 12th in program history.
Difficult Schedule
- The Green and Gold's non-conference slate has been and continues to be a gauntlet. The Tribe's eight non-conference opponents have combined for a 62-40-13 record through Oct. 23
- Five of those eight nonconference foes are currently inside the RPI top 100, including No. 4 North Carolina, No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 23 NC State, No. 36 Coastal Carolina, and No. 54 Old Dominion.
- Including CAA foes, nine of the Tribe's 16 opponents are among the top 100, including six top-50 teams.
- Four CAA teams are currently in the RPI top 100, including No. 21 UNCW, No. 27 James Madison, No. 86 Hofstra and No. 97 Drexel.
Up Next
- The Tribe closes out the regular season when it welcomes Charleston to Williamsburg on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. The match is a make-up from the Sept. 14 tilt that was postponed due to Hurricane Florence.
- Fans can watch the match for FREE in HD on Tribe Athletics TV.
