CONWAY, S.C. – On a night William & Mary men's soccer started six freshmen for the first time in over a decade, it only seemed fitting that a pair of rookies would connect on the winner. After a back-and-forth tilt where both teams had quality chances and hit the woodwork on multiple occasions, freshman Diba Nwegbo connected with classmate Alexander Levengood for the 96th-minute golden goal to propel the Tribe (3-4-2) to its third-straight win.
 
Nwegbo did well to settle a long pass in the midfield of the Tribe's attacking half. He laid it off to Levengood along the right side of the pitch. The Richmond, Va., native took a touch and chipped a shot from 25 yards out over the top of Coastal Carolina goalkeeper Alberto Ciroi and into the upper left corner of the goal for his first collegiate game-winner.
 
After starting five freshmen each of the previous six contests, redshirt freshman back Theo Biddle joined the group to give W&M six rookies in the first XI for the first time since 2007. He was joined in the starting group by Marcos Villeda, Alfredo Bozalongo, Nathan Messer, Kieran Baskett and Levengood.
 
In the end, the Tribe picked up its third-straight shutout for the first time since 2016. Baskett tallied seven saves in goal to record the clean sheet.
 
Senior Reeves Trott had W&M's best opportunity in the first half, but his 22nd-minute shot hit the left post. Sophomore John Eberle just missed the game-winner in the 90th minute as his chance from 18-yards out in the closing seconds rang off the crossbar.
 
For Coastal Carolina (4-5-1), Claudio Repetto hit off the right post in the 33rd minute. The Chanticleers, who were nationally-ranked earlier in the year, could not take advantage of a penalty kick less than a minute into the second half as Tsiki Ntsabeleng chipped the stop kick off the crossbar.
 
Starters
W&M – #22 Baskett (GK), #2 Biddle #3 Bozalongo, #4 Bradley, #5 Golan, #11 Messer, #13 Shane, #15 Levengood, #19 Villeda, #21 Trott, #24 Ngoh
CCU - #1 Ciroi (GK), #5 Gerbig, #6 Skraep, #7 Ntsabeleng, #8 Boakye, #9 Repetto, #12 Power, #16 Riihjarvi, #20 Harmon, #21 D'Anna, #22 Endale
 
Scoring Summary
96' | W&M – Alexander Levengood (Diba Nwegbo)
 
Quoteable
"We are very pleased with the performance tonight. It is encouraging to take on a good Coastal Carolina team on the road and get a shutout win. Injuries meant that certain players had to step up and play big minutes, or in different roles. To a man, they all responded to the demands." - W&M head coach Chris Norris

Inside the Numbers
- Both teams finished the night with 12 shots. Coastal put seven chances on frame compared to three for W&M, and each team hit the woodwork twice.
- The Tribe recorded five corner kicks, including four in the second half, compared to two for Coastal.
- Freshman Alexander Levengood led W&M with three shots, including two on goal, while Tsiki Ntsabeleng led CCU with four.
 
Notes
Redshirt freshman Theo Biddle earned his first collegiate start … Biddle is the seventh freshman to start for W&M this season … It marked the first time since 2007 that six freshmen started a match for the Green and Gold … The Tribe recorded not only its third-straight win, but its third-straight shutout … The Tribe's shutout streak sits at 275:52 … It marks the first time W&M recorded three-straight shutouts since 2016 … Freshman Alexander Levengood tallied his fourth goal of the season and his first career game-winner … Freshman Diba Nwegbo registered his second assist of the season, which is tied for the team lead … Freshman goalkeeper Kieran Baskett made seven saves in net marking his third game of seven or more saves this season.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for a pair of home matches next week.
- W&M welcomes Elon on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in a CAA match.
- The Green and Gold plays host to state rival Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.
- Both matches will be broadcast for FREE on CAA.TV.