WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's soccer closes out the regular-season portion of the schedule when it travels to No. 21-ranked James Madison on Saturday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. from Sentara Park in Harrisonburg, and the match will be streamed on CAA.TV.
Scouting the Tribe
- With last week's results, the Tribe earned a spot in the CAA Championship for the fourth-straight season and 26th time overall.
- The Tribe sits at 5-8-2 overall and 3-3-1 in the CAA after splitting its league matches last week. W&M suffered a 2-0 loss at Northeastern on Saturday after the offense erupted for four second-half goals in a 5-1 rout of Delaware on Oct. 22.
- For the second time in three weeks, freshman
Alfredo Bozalongo was named the CAA Rookie of the Week. He registered the first three-assist match in the CAA this season and the first one for a W&M freshman since 2015 in the win over Delaware. He earned the honor on Oct. 14 as well after scoring two goals on free kicks, including the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining in the first OT period, in a 2-1 victory over Elon.
- Senior
Julian Ngoh has scored three goals in the last three matches. He tallied a second-half brace in the win over Delaware. Ngoh leads the team and ranks sixth in the CAA in points (12) and goals (5).
- The Tribe's five goals against Delaware were the program's most since a 7-1 win over Northeastern in 2016 and the second most by a CAA team this season. Freshman
Diba Nwegbo scored W&M's first goal in the opening half, while senior
Tanner Shane notched the game-winner and sophomore
John Eberle added his first career goal in the second frame.
- Bozalongo leads the CAA and ranks 66th nationally with five assists. His nine points in CAA play rank sixth in the conference.
- Freshman
Nathan Messer garnered CAA Rookie of the Week honors earlier this season. He received the distinction on Sept. 30 after assisting on the game-winner against Loyola Maryland and scoring the game-winner at Charleston.
- On three occasions this season, a Tribe player has been recognized as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week. Freshman goalkeeper
Kieran Baskett garnered the distinction twice on Sept. 14 and Oct. 7, while junior back
Sam Golan received the honor on Sept. 30 after tallying a goal and an assist in a road win at Charleston.
- In each of the last 13 matches, the Tribe has started at least five freshmen. On five occasions this season, a total of six freshmen appeared in the W&M starting XI, and the Tribe is 3-2 in those contests. It is the first time W&M started six freshmen in a game since 2007.
- Freshman
Alexander Levengood, who netted his first career game-winner at Coastal Carolina chipping the goalkeeper from 25 yards out in the 96th minute, ranks 10th in the CAA in goals with four.
- Baskett leads the CAA in saves (62), while coming in second in shutouts (3) and third in save percentage (.721) and ranking ninth in goals against average (1.54). He is 20th nationally in saves, as of Oct. 23.
- Baskett tallied a career-high 11 saves against UNCW, which were the most for a W&M player since 1998 when Adin Brown tallied 12 against St. John's. The total was the most in a CAA game since 2015. He was named to College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his efforts.
- In total, 60.6 percent of the Tribe's starts this season (100-of-165) have come from its underclassmen – freshmen and sophomores. The rookies own 77 of those starts.
Scouting #21 JMU
- JMU enters the weekend match-up with the Tribe at 10-5-2 on the year and ranked No. 21 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
- The Dukes are 5-1-1 in CAA play and have already locked up the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, meaning it will host at least the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
- In its most recent match, JMU topped Charleston, 3-1, on Saturday. The Dukes suffered back-to-back 1-0 setbacks at No. 1-ranked Virginia and at home to CAA regular-season champion UNCW on Oct. 15 and Oct. 19, before playing No. 19 Penn State to a 1-1 draw in a fog-shortened match on Oct. 22 prior to its trip to Charleston.
- As a team, JMU averages 1.82 goals per game, which ranks second in the CAA, while allowing less than a goal per contest. The Dukes 15 goals allowed this season leads the league.
- Senior Manuel Ferriol tops JMU with 33 points on 14 goals and five assists. He leads the country with six game-winners, while ranking third in goals (14) and fourth in points (33). He tops the CAA in all three categories.
- Sophomore Tyler Clegg ranks second on the team and 10th in the CAA in both points (10) and goals (4). Freshman Dennis Mensah also owns four goals for the Dukes.
- Freshman Clay Obara leads the Dukes and is tied for the CAA lead with five assists.
- Junior T.J. Bush has played most of the minutes in goal for JMU. He ranks second in the CAA and 29th nationally in goals against average (0.84). He leads the CAA and ranks 23rd nationally with five shutouts, while also coming in second in the CAA in save percentage (.745) and third in saves (48).
Series History: W&M vs. JMU
- JMU leads the all-time series at 27-20-9, including a 14-5-1 mark in Harrisonburg.
- The teams are dead even in goals scored over the 56 matches in the series at 76 apiece.
- James Madison owns an 9-3-2 mark in the series over the last 14 contests.
- Last season, the Dukes topped the Tribe twice, including a 2-0 win in the CAA Semifinals.
Up Next
- The Tribe will compete in the CAA Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 8.
- Both W&M's seed and destination for the CAA Championship are to be determined with the final week of competition.
- The Tribe can finish as high as No. 4 in the league standings and as low as No. 6. As the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, W&M would travel to UNCW for the quarterfinals and semifinals or to James Madison if the Tribe is the No. 6 seed.
- W&M will face either Northeastern or Hofstra in the CAA Quarterfinals.
