WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's soccer team opens the 2019 season on the road at preseason Big South favorite High Point on Friday evening. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. from Vert Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Season Preview
Scouting the Tribe
- The Tribe closed out the exhibition slate with a 1-0-1 mark and had its third match-up with VCU canceled after a half of scoreless competition due to inclement weather. The Green and Gold opened with a 1-0 victory over Navy in Virginia Beach on Aug. 16 and closed out the slate with a 2-2 draw against Mason on Aug. 24.
- W&M was picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll by vote of the league coaches on Thursday. The Green and Gold finished fifth in the standings last season and advanced to the CAA Semifinals.
- The Tribe fell behind Mason, 2-0, in the 65th minute in its final exhibition match before rallying with two goals in the final 20 minutes to forge a draw. Freshman
Alexander Levengood tallied the Tribe's first marker corralling a deflected cross from senior
Julian Ngoh and scoring inside the right post from 15 yards out. Freshman
Alfredo Bozalongo found the head of junior
Sam Golan for the equalizer in the 88th minute off a corner kick.
- Sophomore
James Bradley scored the lone goal in the win over Navy, redirecting in a pass from classmate
John Eberle from six yards out in the 24th minute. Bradley and Eberle both earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors last season.
- W&M displayed its depth during the exhibition slate. In total, 22 players saw action for the Tribe vs. Navy, including nine freshmen. W&M played 20 players in just 45 minutes of action at VCU and closed out the three-game stretch with 19 players seeing action against the Patriots.
- The Tribe remained unbeaten in last nine exhibition matches (4-0-5) and 12-1-9 in exhibition action dating back to 2006.
- W&M, which was 6-10-2 last season, returns just five starters from last season, but 13 of the Green and Gold's 18 returners in 2019 have starting experience.
- Junior
Sam Golan was also named one of the top returning players in the CAA by Top Drawer Soccer in the website's league previews. He is a returning All-CAA performer, earning third-team honors along the backline last season.
- Seniors
Reeves Trott and
Julian Ngoh are the Tribe's top to returning scorers from last season. Trott totaled four goals, an assist and nine points, while Ngoh tallied three goals, three assists and nine points. Both players closed the season strong, earning CAA All-Championship Team honors.
- Trott is the Tribe's top returning scorer for his career as well with 14 goals, five assists and 34 points. He tallied five goals in each of his first two seasons and earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors in 2016.
Scouting High Point
- High Point went 2-0 during the exhibition slate with a 2-0 win over Georgia Southern and a 4-1 victory against Queens University of Charlotte.
- The Panthers, which return seven starters and 14 letterwinners, have won each of the last two regular-season Big South Championships. HPU made its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season as an at-large team and finished the year at 13-3-2.
- Friday will be the first match under new head coach Zach Haines, who joined HPU from Denver University in February.
- Sophomore Alex Abril scored three of High Point's six goals in the preseason, including a brace against Georgia Southern.
- Senior forward Ilias Kosmidis, who scored two goals vs. Queens in exhibition play, was named the Big South Attacking Player of the Year last season. He collected 10 goals and 23 points in 2018.
- Last season, High Point led the Big South in both goals scored per game (1.90) and goals allowed per game (1.05) in 2018, while the team's seven shutouts were tied for a conference-high.
- Both seniors Ryan Inman and goalkeeper Keegan Meyer return in 2019 after earning All-Big South first-team honors last year.
Series History: W&M vs. High Point
- The Tribe leads the all-time series with the Panthers at 2-1.
- The teams last met during the 2012 season when High Point posted a 1-0 win in North Carolina.
- In the all-time series, the Tribe has outscored HPU, 9-2.
Up Next
- The Tribe opens a four-match homestand when it welcomes Villanova to Williamsburg on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
- Fans can watch the action on Tribe Athletics TV for FREE in HD and live stats will be available at TribeAthletics.com.
