WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team opens Colonial Athletic Association with a pair of road games this weekend. The Tribe heads to College of Charleston on Thursday, Sept. 20, before doing battle with Towson on Sunday, Sept. 23. Kickoffs are set for 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Julie Shackford to discuss the team's last week, the start of conference play, and the upcoming matches with College of Charleston and Towson. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary (3-5-0, 0-0-0 CAA) looks to get back into the win column after dropping its last two contest to close non-conference play. The Tribe saw its three-game winning streak came to an end after a hard fought loss to No. 5 Texas A&M (2-0), before it fell to VCU 1-0 on Sept. 16. Redshirt junior
Sarah Segan leads the team with two goals, one assist, and five points. Just off the pace is sophomore
Alex Kuhnle, who has a pair of goals for four points. Ten different players have points this season for the Green and Gold, while seven different players have netted goals. In goal, junior
Katelyn Briguglio has started six games, while senior
Sara Vigen has made a pair of starts. Briguglio has posted a 1.65 goals-against-average, made 32 saves, and a shutout. Meanwhile, Vigen owns a 1.50 goals-against-average and six saves.
Scouting the Cougars
College of Charleston enters Thursday contest after wrapping up non-conference play 5-4. The Cougars have won three of four, but are coming off of a loss in their last contest to Furman (2-1). Both Alyssa Beck (three goals, one assist) and Laura Ortega (two goals, three assist) lead CofC with seven points this season. Maddy Brill-Edwards (one goal, two assists), Mackenzie Crittenberger (two goals) and Leah Deutsch (two goals) are just off of the pace with four points. The Cougars has used the trio of Maggie Berlin, Genevieve Henderson, and Meredith Holton in goal this season. However, Henderson has started all nine matches posting a 1.42 goals-agaisnt-average, 29 saves, and two shutouts.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson enters the weekend with a 3-6-1 record after non-conference play. The Tigers open CAA play on Thursday night at Hofstra. Justine Stoner leads the Tiger offense this season as she has scored five goals, and added an assist for 11 points. Nikki Logan (one goal, two assists) and Evelyn Neidert (two goals) are tied for second on the team with four points. Megan Collins has started all 10 games in goal for the Tigers this season. She owns a 1.71 goals-against-average and 43 saves.
Series History vs. College of Charleston
- William & Mary and College of Charleston meet for the sixth time in program history all since the Cougars entered the CAA in 2013. W&M holds a 3-0-2 mark in the all-time series heading into Thursday contest.
- Last year, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw at Albert-Daly Field. Both teams fired 15 shots apiece, but couldn't find a winner. Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Grace Smith recorded six saves in the shutout for W&M.
Series History vs. Towson
- The Tribe then heads to Towson for the 17th meeting between the two schools. W&M leads the all-time series with Towson 12-2-2, including a win last season.
- W&M picked up a 3-1 win over the Tigers in the regular season finale. Seniors
Rachel Moore and
Elysse Branton as well as then-redshirt sophomore
Sarah Segan netted goals for the Green and Gold. Segan added an assist on Branton's game-winner.
What's Ahead
- The Green and Gold returns home for a pair of CAA matches the following weekend. W&M has its CAA opener against UNCW on Thursday, Sept. 27, before welcoming Drexel on Sunday, Sept. 30. Kickoffs are set for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
- After a bye game on Thursday, Oct 4, W&M returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 7 as they travel to Hofstra. Kickoff between the Tribe and Pride is set for 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
- W&M dropped its non-conference finale to in-state rival VCU on Sunday night. The Rams picked up a 1-0 win after Susanna Friedrichs scored the winner in the 56th minute.
- The Tribe had three golden opportunities for goals, but couldn't get any to go. Right out of the gates in the second half, sophomore
Alex Kuhnle curled her shot off the crossbar. The Tribe hit the iron again in the 65th minute as this time redshirt junior
Sarah Segan drilled her chance off the crossbar. Finally, in the 89th minute
Colleen Norton had a breakaway, but VCU keeper Audrey Sanderson made the stop on the Green and Gold's final chance.
CAA Openers
- The Tribe will play its CAA opener against College of Charleston on Thursday night. In its last 10 league openers, the Green and Gold has posted a 7-3-0 mark in those contests.
- However, the three loses have come in the last five years, including a 2-0 setback at James Madison in the CAA opener last year.
Cardiac Tribe
- W&M has shown its flair of the dramatic twice already this season with two furious comebacks scoring a pair of goals in the final five minutes.
- In the win over Liberty the Tribe erased a 1-0 deficit as sophomores
Colleen Norton and
Alex Kuhnle netted goals in the 85th and 90th minute, respectively, to win 2-1.
- In the very next game after surrendering its 1-0 lead, W&M rallied to score a pair of goals as junior
Sully Boulden leveled the score with four minutes left as she stayed with a broken play, before sophomore
Meredith Beam scored the winner off of a corner kick in the 89th minute.
Balanced Attack
- W&M's offense has been very spread out this season, so far. The Tribe has, at least, one point from 10 of its players this season.
- Furthermore, only two players - redshirt junior
Sarah Segan and sophomore
Alex Kuhnle – have two goals. Seven different players have registered a goal this season for the Green and Gold.
Second Half Success
- W&M has scored seven of its nine goals this season in the second half of the match. The Tribe's only first half goals have come in the season opener against Maryland and then against Bucknell.
- Furthermore, the Tribe has only scored the match's opening goal twice in its seven games. The Tribe blanked Coastal Carolina 2-0 and scored first at Bucknell.
Multi-Goal Games
- Redshirt junior
Sarah Segan recorded her fifth career multi-goal game when she scored twice in the second half against Coastal Carolina.
- Junior
Charlotte Hyland is the only other player on the roster that has registered a multi-goal game in her career. She recorded a hat trick in last year's win against Bucknell.
Weekly Awards
- Redshirt junior
Sarah Segan was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 27. She scored a pair of goals in the Tribe's win over Coastal Carolina. Also for her efforts, Segan earned an honorable mention spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team on the Week.
Career Firsts
- Sophomore
Courtney Miles notched her first career goal off of a rebound in the seventh minute in the match against Maryland.
- In the match with Dayton, freshman
Renee Kohler got on the board with her first career marker when she leveled the score in the 81st minute.
- Sophomore
Colleen Norton registered her first career point for the Tribe when she notched an assist on
Sarah Segan's second goal against Coastal Carolina.
- Norton went on score her first career goal the next weekend when she buried a shot into the upper left 90 from 30-yards out against Liberty.
- Sophomore
Alex Kuhnle also added her first career goal in the game against Liberty. She scored with just 13 seconds left to lift the Tribe to a 2-1 win.
- Junior
Sully Boulden scored her first career goal to level the score in the Tribe's 3-2 win at Bucknell.
- Sophomore
Alex Kuhnle netted her first career as the game-winner against the Bison in the 89th minute.
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.
