WILMINGTON, N.C. – William & Mary men's soccer turned in a strong first-half performance but No. 12-ranked UNCW scored late in the second half to pull out a 1-0 victory on Saturday evening.
 
The Tribe was on the front foot in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Seahawks, 4-1, including a trio of chances on goal.
 
Freshman Michael Meese just missed getting the Tribe on the board just four minutes into the game with back-to-back shots on goal. The rookie striker got the step on the UNCW defense, racing into the attacking third. His shot from inside the top of the 18 was parried away by UNCW goalkeeper Gabriel Perrotta. Meese collected the rebound, but his second shot was right at Perrotta.
 
It was again Meese with a great chance for the Tribe in the 21st minute. Junior James Bradley took the ball from a UNCW attacker and fed down the left side of the pitch to catch Meese on the run. The Tribe forward cut back to inside the upper left side of the 18 and shot to the far post but Perrotta pushed the chance wide.
 
In the second half, UNCW stepped up the intensity and outshot the Tribe, 6-0. The Seahawks cashed in a corner kick opportunity in the 78th minute for the game's lone goal. On the play, Parker Norris headed home the service from Jacob Evans to give UNCW a 1-0 lead.
 
Quotable
"We are disappointed with the outcome. We had a good first half, creating the best chances and limiting them. UNCW raised their intensity in the second half and our response wasn't quite good enough. We are young and must learn from this." – W&M head coach Chris Norris
 
Scoring Summary
78' | UNCW – Parker Norris (Jacob Evans)
 
Starters
W&M - #1 Stack (GK), #4 Bradley, #6 Bozalongo, #7 Levengood, #8 Villeda, #9 Nwegbo, #14 Knapp, #16 Meese, #19 Hosseinian, #23 Core, #24 Eskay
 
UNCW - #1 Perrotta (GK), #3 Strumeier, #6 Masser, #9 Toone, #10 Evans, #11 Pleasants, #13 Hornsby, #14 Takada, #17 Mercer, #18 Saez, #21 Rabil
 
Inside the Numbers
- UNCW held a 7-4 advantage in shot, but both teams put three chances on frame.
- The Seahawks had six corner kicks compared to four for W&M.
- Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Will Stack finished with two saves, while Gabriel Perrotta had three for the Seahawks.
- Freshman Michael Meese finished with a game-high three shots, all on frame.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action when it hosts James Madison on Friday, April 2. The match carries a 2 p.m. start time from the Dillard Complex.