MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – William & Mary men's soccer struck twice in the opening 16 minutes of the second half to pick up a Colonial Athletic Association road win over Charleston, 2-0, on Saturday night at Patriots Point Athletics Complex.
The Tribe (2-4-2, 1-1-1 CAA) scored both goals off free kicks as freshman
Alfredo Bozalongo assisted on the markers. Fellow rookie
Nathan Messer tallied his first career tally in the 54th minute before junior
Sam Golan added the second just seven minutes later.
After an uneventful first half that saw the Tribe put a pair of shots on frame, W&M turned up the pressure to start the final 45 minutes against the Cougars (1-7-1, 0-3 CAA). The Tribe tallied four shots and a pair of corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes, culminating in Messer's lid-lifter.
Off a free kick in the midfield, Bozalongo served the ball to the back of the 18-yard box. Golan and the Charleston goalkeeper Isaac Alstrom went up for the ball and Golan got a piece of it, redirecting the ball toward the right post where Messer cleaned it up with his head from six yards out to give W&M the lead.
Bozalongo and Golan connected in the 61st minute to double the lead. Off another free-kick from a similar spot along the right touchline, the Tribe freshman served the ball toward into the middle of the penalty area. Golan beat his mark to the spot and headed the ball into the right side of the net from 10 yards out to extend the margin to 2-0.
Quotable
"We are very pleased with the result. Our first half was a little flat and Charleston competed very well. In the second half, we were a little more energized and did well to capitalize on our set-piece opportunities." - W&M head coach
Chris Norris
Scoring Summary
54' | W&M –
Nathan Messer (
Alfredo Bozalongo/
Sam Golan)
61' | W&M –
Sam Golan (
Alfredo Bozalongo)
Starters
W&M – #22 Baskett (GK), #3 Bozalongo, #4 Bradley, #5 Golan, #8 Hosseinian, #11 Messer, #13 Shane, #15 Levengood, #19 Villeda, #21 Trott, #24 Ngoh
CofC – #28 Alstrom (GK), #2 Dearle, #3 Gulledge, #9 Murray, #10 Heffron, #12 Myllerup, #16 Ray, #21 Walmsley, #22 Hudock, #24 Cox, #26 Maxwell
Inside the Numbers
- Charleston outshot the Tribe, 15-10, on the evening, but W&M put seven on frame compared to just two for the Cougars.
- W&M finished the contest with five corner kicks compared to three for CofC.
- Along with his first career goal, freshman
Nathan Messer led the Tribe with four shots, including three on goal.
Notes
Freshman
Nathan Messer recorded his first career goal and game-winner against the Cougars … Junior
Sam Golan recorded his third career goal … Freshman
Alfredo Bozalongo posted the first two assists of his career … He is the first Tribe freshman since
Reeves Trott in 2016 to register two assists in a game … The assist was the third of Golan's career … It marked Golan's first career game with a goal and an assist … W&M posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since Oct. 11 and Oct. 14, 2017 … Freshman
Kieran Baskett tallied a pair of saves in picking up his second consecutive clean sheet … For the sixth-straight match, the Tribe started five freshmen … W&M improved to 5-1-1 against Charleston since they joined the CAA in 2013 … The Tribe ran its record to 11-2-2 all-time against the Cougars.
Up Next
- The Tribe returns to the Palmetto State for a Saturday, Oct. 5, match-up at Coastal Carolina.
- Kick-off is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed on the Chanticleer Sports Network.
