Scouting the Tribe
• The Tribe sits at 1-1 on the year after splitting its opening two matches. W&M downed Saint Joseph's to open the year by a 2-0 score at home, before falling in overtime at Villanova, 3-2, on Monday.
• Senior
Ryder Bell recorded his fourth career multigoal match against Villanova and leads W&M with five points on the year. He has registered a point in each of his last five contests dating back to last season. Bell ranks 20th nationally in goals and 22nd in points this season.
• Senior
Antonio Bustamante registered his second career game with multiple assists, tallying two against the Wildcats. He leads the country with three assists through two contests.
• Junior
Julian Ngoh posted a point in each of the first two matches with a goal in the win over SJU and an assist at Villanova.
• Senior
Graham Guidry scored just 51 seconds into the 2018 season for what proved to be the game-winner vs. Saint Joseph's. All three of Guidry's career goals have been game-winners.
• Freshman goalkeeper
Connor Andrews started each of the first two matches for W&M. He posted a shutout with four saves in the opener against Saint Joseph's.
• Bustamante is just six points away from 10th on the Tribe's career points list (71) and three goals shy of the No. 10 spot on that list (30). He ranks third among active NCAA Division I players in career points and fourth in goals.
• Bell ranks among the top 20 active NCAA Division I players in goals, assists and points. He is ninth in points (68), 10th assists (18) as well as 18th in goals (25).
• According to
Top Drawer Soccer, the Tribe has three of the top eight players in the CAA. In the website's preseason conference rankings, Bustamante was the top player in the league followed by Bell at No. 3 and senior
Marcel Berry at No. 8.
Facing the ACC
• The Tribe faces three ACC opponents in 2018. It marks the fourth time in the last six years that W&M plays three ACC teams in a season, and it's the sixth consecutive season that the Tribe has faced multiple ACC opponents.
• Last season, W&M downed two ACC foes in N.C. State and Virginia Tech, who both advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It marked the fifth time in school history and second time under head coach
Chris Norris that the Tribe downed two ACC opponents in a season.
• The Green and Gold owns six wins against the ACC in the last eight years.
• In total, the Tribe will face four teams from Power 5 conferences in 2018. It marks the second-straight year W&M has faced four major conference opponents.
• During head coach
Chris Norris tenure, the Tribe owns nine wins and four ties against Power 5 Conference opponents.
In the Rankings
• In the
College Soccer News National Top 30 released on Monday, the Tribe was ranked No. 29 after being 30th in the preseason.
• After receiving a pair of votes in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll on Aug. 7, the Green and Gold received six in the Week 1 standings released on Tuesday and was one of 24 teams to receive votes.
• W&M was third in the Atlantic Region behind UNCW, who was ranked No. 13 nationally, and Colgate.
National Renowned
• Senior
Antonio Bustamante was one of 32 players named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List on Aug. 9. It marked the second-straight year he earned a spot on the list. A semifinal list of 15 will be announced in November, and the winner announced on Jan. 4, 2019 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
• Bustamante was named a preseason First Team All-American by
Soccer America Top Drawer Soccer and
College Soccer News. A consensus All-American in 2017, he was selected to the
TDS Best XI First Team at the end of 2017 as well.
• In
Top Drawer Soccer's preseason player rankings, Bustamante was rated as the fifth-best player in the country by the Website. He finished last season at No. 10 on
TDS's top players list.
Preseason CAA Favorite and League Awards
• W&M was selected as the preseason favorite to win the CAA for the second-straight year by vote of league coaches on Aug. 16. The Tribe was the unanimous selection, garnering the eight first-place votes from opposing league coaches and tallying the maximum number of points with 64. UNCW was second with 56 points, including one first-place vote.
• Senior
Antonio Bustamante was named the preseason CAA Player of the Year for the second-straight season. He was a consensus All-American and league player of the year in 2017.
• Seniors
Ryder Bell and
Marcel Berry joined Bustamante on the 12-member preseason All-CAA team. All three players earned the honor for the third-straight year.
Scouting North Carolina
• North Carolina enters Friday at 1-1 on the year following a 1-0 setback to No. 2 Indiana. The Tar Heels opened the year with a 1-0 win over ETSU.
• The Tar Heels are ranked as high as No. 4 nationally by
College Soccer News to go along with being No. 6 in the
Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 and No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
• Prior to this week, UNC had been ranked in the top 10 in the NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches poll for 46 consecutive weeks dating back to 2015.
• After winning the ACC Coastal Division and advancing to the 2017 College Cup Semifinals, the Tar Heels were picked as the preseason favorite to win the ACC by vote of the league coaches.
• Carolina went 3-0 in preseason exhibition games defeating Coastal Carolina 4-0, Stetson 4-1 and Presbyterian 2-1.
• Four Tar Heels, all defenders, rank among the top 100 players in the country according to
Top Drawer Soccer – No. 28 John Nelson, No. 39 Mauricio Pineda, No. 43 Alex Comsia and No. 97 Matthew Constant.
• Comsia was a Preseason First Team All-American according to
College Soccer News and he was named to the preseason Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Nelson was a
Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI selection, while Pineda was a Third Team Preseason All-American by
College Soccer News.
• Jelani Pieters, who scored UNC's lone goal vs. ETSU, is the Tar Heels top returning scorer. He totaled 25 points on nine goals, including four game-winners, and seven assists last season.
• Senior James Pyle has started 26 games over his career in goal for UNC, including both contests in 2018. He has allowed just one goal in two games this season and sports a career GAA of 0.61.
Series History: W&M vs. North Carolina
• The Tribe and Tar Heels meet for the sixth-straight season and the 19th time overall.
• UNC leads the all-time series at 14-2-2.
• In the last five meetings, the Tribe owns a win and a draw against the Tar Heels. The Green and Gold topped UNC, 1-0, in 2013, before picking up a 1-1 draw in 2015. Senior
Ryder Bell scored the Tribe's lone goal in the 2015.
• Last season, North Carolina edged the Tribe, 3-2, in Cary, N.C. Senior
Antonio Bustamante scored the Tribe's second goal to pull W&M even in the 69th minute. Junior
Reeves Trott assisted on the Green and Gold's first goal.
Scouting NC State
• The Wolfpack enters the weekend at 2-0 following a massive 2-0 win at No. 2 Akron on Aug. 27. NC State downed USC Upstate, 3-1, to open the season and will host Presbyterian on Friday.
• NC State is ranked No. 17 by
Top Drawer Soccer, No. 23 by
College Soccer News and are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
• In its first season under head coach George Kiefer, the Wolfpack went 8-6-4 and advanced to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
• Sophomore forward Manny Perez, who was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2018, earned Second Team Preseason All-America honor from both
College Soccer News and
Top Drawer Soccer. He is ranked No. 14 in the top 100 players list by
TDS as well and tallied an assist in each of the Wolfpack's first two games.
• Along with Perez, sophomore David Loera is ranked No. 62 on
Top Drawer Soccer's top 100 players list.
• Against No. 2 Akron, Gabriel Machado and Aidan Foster scored their first career goals in the opening half as NC State knocked off its third top-five opponent in the last two years.
• Ivy Brisma, Tyler Gabarra and Bard Sweeney tallied goals in the opening win over USC Upstate
• Leon Krapf, who has started all 20 matches over the last two years in goal, has allowed just one goal in the first two matches of 2018, making three saves.
Series History: W&M vs. NC State
• W&M and NC State have both won four matches in the all-time series and square off for the second-straight year.
• The Tribe holds a slim 12-11 advantage in goals scored in the eight-game series.
• The Green and Gold won the match-up last season 3-2 thanks to a
Julian Ngoh header in the 93rd minute off a
Remi Frost pass.
• In the 2017 meeting, W&M jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from
Ryder Bell and
Reeves Trott, before NC State scored twice in a 3:12-span in the second half to send the game to overtime.
• The Wolfpack won the last meeting in Raleigh on a 23rd-minute penalty kick in 2014.
Up Next
• The Tribe travels to Patriot League favorite Loyola (Md.) on Friday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., in Baltimore.
