WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team opens the 2018 campaign with a pair of games in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott James Madison Invitational this weekend. The Tribe will square off with Maryland on Thursday, Aug. 16, before playing Dayton on Sunday, Aug. 19. Kickoffs are set for 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Julie Shackford to discuss the team's preseason, the excitement of a new season, and facing Maryland and Dayton this weekend. The video preview is available by the link above or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary returns 23 players from last year's roster to the 2018 Tribe. The 23 returning players equal 50-percent of its goal scoring, 40-percent of its assists, and 29-percent of its minutes played in goal. Additionally, W&M does return its leading scorer from the past two seasons in redshirt junior
Sarah Segan, who has amassed 18 goals, six assists, and 42 points in just 34 career games. The Tribe also returns multiple goal scores from 2017 in junior
Charlotte Hyland (three goals) and senior
Mackenzie Kober (two goals). At the goalkeeper position, the top returner is junior
Katelyn Briguglio, who has played in eight career matches with seven starts. She owns a 1.31 career goals-against-average, 19 saves, and three wins. Senior captain
Sara Vigen and sophomore
Sarah Haggerty also return at the position, while freshman
Maisy Fling will all be in the mix as camp moves forward.
Scouting the Terrapins
Maryland opens the regular season against the Tribe Friday after posting a 7-8-3 record in 2017. The Terrapins return four of their top six point scorers from a season ago, including the leading scorer Mikalya Dayes, who finished last season with three goals, two assists, and eight points. Jlon Flippens (two goals, three assists, seven points), Madison Turner (three goals, one assist, seven points), and Jarena Harmon (one goal, one assist, three points) are all also back. Both goalies that saw action for Maryland are back. Rachel Egyed, who played in all 18 games with 17 starts, posted a 1.36 goals-against-average, 71 starts, and five shutouts. Erin Seppi is also back after she appeared in three games with one start, and posted a 0.67 goals-against-average with six saves.
Scouting the Flyers
Dayton, which opens the regular season with host James Madison on Friday, enters the 2018 season after posting a 9-9-2 record and advancing to the Atlantic 10 Quarterfinal. The Flyers return three of its top four point scorers from a season ago. Micayla Livingston is the team's returning leading scorer after scoring seven goals, five assists and 19 points in 2017. Also back are Keagin Collin (two goals, five assists, nine points) and Sara Robertson (four goals, eight points). In goal, UD returns both keepers that saw action a season ago. Kaelyn Johns started all 20 matches, posted a 1.30 goals-against-average, 98 saves, and seven shutouts. Emily Jones saw action in two matches as a reserve last season. The Flyers were predicted to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, on a vote of the league's head coaches.
Series History vs. Maryland
- W&M and Maryland meet for the 26th time in series history and the third straight season in the season opener Friday. The series dates back to the 1983 season. W&M leads the all-timer series with the Terps 16-9-1, but Maryland has won the last three meetings in the series.
- Last season, the Terps picked up a 1-0 victory in College Park. In the third minute Madison Turner scored the game's lone goal, and Rachel Egyed made it standup posting a clean sheet and making both saves on the shots that came on target.
Series History vs. Dayton
- On Sunday, W&M and Dayton meet for just the second time in series history. The only previous meeting between the two schools came in 2005 when the schools played to a 1-1 draw. That meeting was also played in a regular season tournament, hosted by Virginia.
What's Ahead
- The Tribe opens the home portion of its schedule with a four-match homestand. W&M welcomes in-state rival and 2017 NCAA Tournament team and preseason No. 8 Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. for its home opener. W&M will also play host to Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 2 p.m.
- W&M concludes its homestand with a pair of games over Labor Day weekend. The Tribe opens the weekend with a match against No. 5 South Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 30, before welcoming Liberty on Sunday, Sept. 2. Game times are set for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Last Time Out
- The Tribe wrapped up a 2-0 preseason slate as it topped George Mason 3-1 on Saturday evening in Fairfax, Va.
Starting Strong
- W&M has won its last four season openers dating back to the 2014 season. Two of the four season opening wins during that stretch were recorded in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott James Madison Invitational. The last Tribe season opening loss came in the 2013 season when the Tribe fell in overtime to nationally ranked Georgetown, 2-1.
Postseason Consistency
- W&M has advanced to the last seven CAA Tournament Semifinals dating back to the 2011 season. The Tribe is the lone team in the CAA to accomplish that feat. The Tribe is 2-3-2 in the seven semifinals, won the 2011 CAA Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
Selecting Segan
- Redshirt junior
Sarah Segan was selected to the Preseason All-CAA Team the league announced.
- Last season, Segan led the Tribe by scoring eight goals, two assists, and 20 points . Despite playing in just 14 games, she still ranked fifth in the CAA in points and second in the league in goals.
Fifth Gear
- The William & Mary women's soccer team was selected to finish fifth in a vote of the league 10 head coaches. The Tribe received 48 votes in the poll.
- After putting together a perfect conference season in the 2017 season, defending league champion Hofstra was a unanimous pick to repeat as CAA champions.
New Era
- On Dec. 3, 2018 W&M Director of Athletics
Samantha K. Huge announced the hiring of
Julie Cunningham Shackford '88 as the third head coach in W&M women's history. A 25-year coaching veteran and former national coach of the year, Shackford owns a 245-130-33 record (.641) as a head coach with stops at Princeton and Carnegie Mellon.
- Her best season at Princeton came in 2004 when she led the Tigers to their first NCAA College Cup Semifinal appearance, which remains the only national semifinal trip for any Ivy League member. The team finished the season with a 19-3 record and earned wins against Central Connecticut State, Villanova, Boston College and Washington to advance to the semifinals, before falling to her former Tribe teammate and current U.S. Women's National Team Coach Jill Ellis and UCLA. For her efforts, she was named the Division I National Coach of the Year and
Soccer Buzz Coach of the Year.
- A 2001 inductee of the W&M Athletics Hall of Fame, Shackford was a four-year standout for the Tribe from 1984-1987 appearing in 68 career games. She finished her career with 20 goals, nine assists, and 49 points, while helping the Tribe to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. She was a three-time All-American.
Familiar Faces
- William & Mary returns 23 players from last year's roster to the 2018 Tribe. The 23 players account for 50-percent of W&M's goal scoring, 40-percent of its assists, and 29-percent of its minutes played in goal.
O' Captain, My Captain
Head coach
Julie Shackford announced that seniors
Arundel Miguelez and
Sara Vigen as well as redshirt junior
Sarah Segan have been named team captains for the 2018 season. The trio was selected based on a vote by their teammates.
New Kids on the Block
The Tribe welcomes seven true freshmen to the roster for the 2018 season, which are the teams only new player additions. Goalkeeper
Maisy Fling, midfielder
Zoe Smith, defender
Amanda Wigboldy, midfielder
Addie Puskar, midfielder
Grace Santos, forward
Caroline Monahan, and midfielder
Renee Kohler all join the Green and Gold for the upcoming season.
Setting the Slate
- W&M will play one of its tougher schedules in recent memory in 2018. The slate is highlighted with a regular season tournament, five teams that appeared in last seasons NCAA Tournament, including a Final Four participant, and hosting 10 games at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
Meet the Staff
-
Julie Shackford has announced her coaching staff for the 2019 season. Her staff consists of former teammate
Marsha Fishburne Lycan '87,
Alexa Gaul and
Kristen Washburn.
- Lycan was elevated to assistant coach after spending last season on staff as a volunteer assistant. She helped guide the Tribe to eight wins and its fifth straight CAA semifinal appearance in 2017. Lycan mentored three players to All-CAA honors, including a pair of first-teamers in senior midfielders
Elysse Branton and
Rachel Moore. Prior to returning to Williamsburg, Lycan served as an assistant coach at the University of New England for the previous six seasons.
- Gaul spent the last two years as a graduate assistant at Columbus State University, after an impressive collegiate and professional playing career. At Columbus State, Gaul was the goalkeeper coach. She helped guide the Cougars to a pair of Peachbelt Conference regular season and tournament championships. CSU advanced to the Division II Final Four in her first season, before making a Sweet Sixteen run in 2017. Gaul enjoyed a successful collegiate and professional playing career. She spent a year and a half in Willstätt, Germany playing for SC Sand in the Allianz-Frauen Bundesliga Women's First Division. She played three years at the University of Texas, before finishing her college career at Boston College.
- Washburn rounds out the staff as a volunteer assistant. She has spent the last nine years in the Navy. Her time in the service has seen her work as an Intelligence and Administrative Officer at Destroyer Squadron Two, a Naval ROTC instructor at Virginia Military Institute, a Bravo Company Platoon Leader at Coastal Riverine Squadron Three, and a Propulsion Division Officer aboard the USS Cleveland. Prior to entering the service, she was a standout player for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. She appeared in 65 matches with 18 starts, finishing with six goals, 11 assists, and 23 points during her career. She helped the Mids to 60 wins, a pair of Patriot League Tournament Championships, two Patriot League regular season titles, and two berths in the NCAA Tournament.
