PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – William & Mary men's soccer suffered a 4-1 setback in its Colonial Athletic Association opener at Drexel on Saturday evening.
 
Drexel (2-0-1, 1-0 CAA) scored twice in a matter of three minutes to open up a 2-0 lead midway through the second half.  Yassine Elkahloun headed home a deflected cross from Kyle Tucker in the 24th minute, before Cesar Banacoly bent in a far post shot from 15 yards in the 27th.
 
The Tribe (0-2-1, 0-1 CAA) had two golden chances to get on the board, but each time Drexel goalkeeper Alessandro Capogna made key saves. He denied freshman Lucas Caldas in the 22nd minute with a kick save following a nice through ball from senior Marcos Villeda.
 
In the 34th minute, Capogna blocked a spinning left-footed shot from senior Nathan Messer wide of the goal from 12 yards out.
 
The Dragons increased their lead to 3-0 with a PK in the 38th minute. Daniel Nesseler converted the spot kick for the home side.
 
The Tribe drew one back in the 58th minute thanks to a free kick from senior Alfredo Bozalongo. Caldas drew the foul on the right wing, before Bozalongo bent the ball inside the near post from 16 yards out for his first goal of the season.
 
W&M's comeback attempt was dealt a blow in the 62nd minute when it went down a man due to a red card. Freshman Valdi Einarrsson was initially shown a yellow card after a cloison on a 50-50 ball near midfield. The referee changed his mind and the gave the Tribe rookie a straight red, forcing W&M play a man down.
 
The Tribe pressed for more, outshooting Drexel, 7-2, in the second half and generating six corners compared to zero for the home team. The Dragons' Josh Dubost was given his second yellow in the 74th minute to even both teams at 10 men. Unfortunately, Joshua Pulla provided the capper for the Dragon's in the 84th minute for the final margin.

For the game, the Tribe outshot Drexel, 14-10, and generated eight corner kicks to one for the Dragons. Bozalongo led W&M with five shots.
 
Scoring Summary
24' | Drexel – Yassine Elkahloun (Kyle Tucker)
27' | Drexel – Cesar Banacoly (Antonio Illuminato)
38' | Drexel – Daniel Nesseler (penalty kick)
58' | W&M – Alfredo Bozalongo (unassisted)
84' | Drexel – Joshua Pulla (unassisted)
 
Starters
W&M – #25 Nikcevic (GK), #4 Bradley, #6 Bozalongo, #7 Levengood, #8 Villeda, #9 Nwegbo, #11 Messer, #13 Crocco, #14 Knapp, #18 Caldas, #20 Einarsson
 
Drexel – #1 Capogna (GK), #3 Senden, #4 Nesseler, #5 McCarthy, #12 Elkahloun, #15 Hilloskorpi, #16 Tuckeer, #17 Illuminato, #19 Dubost, #21 Banacloy, #28 Coron
 
 Up Next
The Tribe returns home for a midweek tilt with Longwood on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field and the game will be broadcast on FloFC.