WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's soccer kicks off Colonial Athletic Association play when it hosts UNCW on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. It marks the first time in five seasons that W&M has opened league play at home.
Scouting the Tribe
- W&M sits at 0-2-1 on the year following a 1-1 draw with No. 24-ranked NC State on Tuesday.
- The Tribe started five freshmen in its draw with NC State as rookie
Marcos Villeda earned his first career start alongside
Kieran Baskett,
Alfredo Bozalongo,
Alexander Levengood and
Diba Nwegbo. It marked the first time since 2015 that W&M started five freshmen.
- After falling behind NC State, 1-0, on an 81st minute goal, the Tribe answered just over a minute later to equalize. Senior
Julian Ngoh drove to the byline and found classmate
Cole Smith on the backside of the six-yard box. The striker finished inside the near post for his second career goal.
- Ngoh leads the CAA with two assists on the year. He assisted on the Tribe's opening goal of the season at High Point on Aug. 30 as well. For his career, Ngoh has eight helpers.
- The Tribe opens CAA play at home for the first time in five seasons and just the third time in the last 12 years. The last time W&M started league play at home it suffered a 1-0 overtime setback to UNCW in 2014. W&M is in search of its first victory in a CAA opener since downing UNCW, 1-0, in Wilmington during the 2011 campaign.
- The draw with NC State was W&M's fifth under head coach
Chris Norris, along with nine wins, against Power 5 Conference opposition.
- In goal, Baskett has played every minute so far in 2019. He posted a career-high seven saves against NC State, which were the most for a rookie goalkeeper since 2013. Baskett currently ranks second in the CAA in saves per game (4.0), fourth in save percentage (.750) and fifth in goals against average (1.24).
- Junior
Sam Golan, who was an All-CAA third-team selection in 2018, and freshman
Alfredo Bozalongo have been the Tribe's ironmen so far in 2019. They are the only two W&M field players to play all 290 minutes.
- In total, over half of the Tribe's starts this season (17-of-33) have come from its underclassmen – freshmen and sophomores. The rookies own 12 of those starts.
- 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).
- 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.
Scouting UNCW
- The Seahawks enter the CAA opener having won two in a row thanks to matching 3-0 win over Radford and Presbyterian.
- UNCW is 2-2 on the year after opening the season with setbacks to Georgia Southern (4-2) and Stetson (2-1) in the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic in Charleston.
- The Seahawks are averaging 2.3 goals per game.
- UNCW went 3-0 in exhibition play with wins over Winthrop (2-0), Duke (2-1) and South Carolina (2-0).
- Seniors Phillips Goodrum and Mark Lindstrom were recognized as the CAA's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
- The Seahawks were picked second in the CAA just behind favorite JMU. Last season, UNCW advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
- Goodrum and senior transfer Gabriel Cabral lead UNCW in scoring so far this season with five points on two goals and an assist.
- In total, seven different Seahawks have scored a goal and eight have tallied an assist.
- Three different goalkeepers have seen action for UNCW with freshman Gabriel Perrotta starting the last two shutout victories.
Series History: W&M vs. UNCW
- W&M leads the all-time series with UNCW at 35-7-5, including a 16-5-1 mark in Williamsburg. The Green and Gold has outscored the Seahawks, 137-48, in the 47 all-time meetings.
- Last season, UNCW picked up a 2-1 double OT win over the Tribe in Wilmington. Sophomore
Devin McCarthy tallied the Tribe goal, scoring in the 37th minute to give W&M a 1-0 lead.
- The last meeting in Williamsburg, the Seahawks downed W&M, 2-1, thanks to a pair of second-half goals. Junior
Sam Golan scored the Tribe's goal in the 2017 meeting.
- Six the UNCW's seven wins in the series have come since 2008. Over that stretch, they hold a slim 6-4-3 advantage.
Up Next
- The Tribe heads to the City of Brotherly Love for its first of two straight in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 17, against Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m.
- W&M returns to CAA play and Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Drexel.
