WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's soccer opens the home portion of the 2019 schedule against BIG EAST foe Villanova on Tuesday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
It marks the second-straight year the teams have squared off. The contest also opens up a season-long four-match homestand for the Tribe, which is the program's longest since 2008.
Scouting the Tribe
- The Tribe dropped its season opener at Big South favorite High Point, 2-1, on Friday night. W&M outshot the Panthers, 9-5, but HPU struck in the 36th and 54th minutes to cement the win.
- Freshman
Alexander Levengood, who scored in the Tribe's exhibition draw with George Mason, notched his first official collegiate goal in the 72nd minute at High Point. Levengood was three-time All-American and state player of the year in high school and finished as the state of Virginia's career leader in points (233) and goals (104).
- Along with Levengood, freshmen
Kieran Baskett and
Alfredo Bozalongo earned their first collegiate starts in the opener at High Point. Fellow freshmen
Diba Nwegbo,
Marcos Villeda,
Nathan Messer and
Campbell Brickhouse made their first career appearances off the bench in the season opener.
- Senior
Julian Ngoh, who posted an assist in the exhibition draw with Mason, registered his seventh career assist at High Point. He notched nine points on three goals and three assists last season.
- The Tribe is 30-9-2 since 1978 in home openers, including a 11-4 mark under head coach
Chris Norris.
- 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. The Green and Gold finished fifth in the standings last season and advanced to the CAA Semifinals.
- The Tribe rallied from a 2-0 deficit in its exhibition finale against Mason with two goals in the final 20 minutes. Bozalongo found the head of junior
Sam Golan for the equalizer in the 88th minute off a corner kick.
- In the 1-0 exhibition win over Navy, sophomore
James Bradley scored the lone goal, 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.
- Golan was 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.
- Senior
Reeves Trott is the Tribe's top returning scorer for his career with 14 goals. He tallied five goals in each of his first two seasons to go with four last year. Trott, who attended the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in April, earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors in 2016.
Scouting Villanova
- Villanova opened the 2019 season with a dominating 5-0 win at Delaware on Friday night.
- The Wildcats outshot UD, 15-7, including a 10-1 cushion in shots on goal.
- Lyam MacKinnon led VU with a goal and two assists, while Connor Bradley and Anthony Dragisics tallied a goal and an assist apiece.
- In total, five different players scored a goal against the Blue Hens. Evan Vare and Jack Gilliam each notched a tally in the win on Friday.
- The Wildcats were picked 10th in the preseason BIG EAST poll.
- Last season, Villanova finished the year at 7-8-2 overall and 2-6-1 in BIG EAST action.
- Offensively, the Wildcats return just three of its 17 goals from last season. Conor Bradley, Vare and Shane Bradley each tallied a goal last season.
- Jacob Anderson tied for the team lead with three assists last season.
- In total, the Wildcats return eight starters.
- Carson Williams returns in goal after starting all 17 games last season. He posted a goals against average of 1.20 with four shutouts and 71 total saves. He posted a shutout against UD with one save.
Series History: W&M vs. Villanova
- W&M and Villanova meet for the second-straight seasons.
- In 2018, the Wildcats posted a 3-2 overtime win over the Tribe at home with a goal in the 96th minute.
Up Next
- The Tribe continues its homestand with the first Colonial Athletic Association match of the season against Delaware on Friday, Sept. 6.
- Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field, and the match will be streamed for free in HD on Tribe Athletics TV.
