WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The William & Mary women's soccer team hits the road on Thursday and Sunday to take on UNCW and Charleston in CAA matchups.
The games kickoff at 7 p.m. and noon respectively and will be broadcast on FloFC.
TRIBE NOTES
Last Time Out
The Tribe (8-1-5, 5-1-2 CAA) honored their 10-member senior class on Sunday to the tune of a 7-0 victory over neighboring Hampton. W&M outshot the Pirates 41-1, the fifth most shots in NCAA DI this season.
Elaina Longjohn got the scoring starting in the 21
st minute, followed by
Ivey Crain six minutes later.
Leah Iglesias' 39
th minute penalty kick made it 3-0 heading to the half. Crain and Iglesias added goals in the middle part of the second half, with
Kenna Zier and
Ava Marvin providing late insurance goals to make it a 7-0 final. In total, six different players recorded points on the day, 14 recorded a shot and 27 players saw action.
Seven Scores and 20 Years Ago
The seven goals on Sunday were the most scored by the Tribe since 2003 when they beat Howard by an 8-0 total. The last time the Green and Gold scored exactly seven times was in September of 1997 in a 7-1 win at Old Dominion.
Spreading the Wealth
With the goals by Iglesias, Longjohn, Marvin and Zier against Hampton, eight different players now have multiple goals for the Tribe this season. For reference, W&M only had five players score more than one goal a year ago. In total 12 players have scored a goal this season for the Tribe, with 18 recording a point during the first 14 games.
Opponents Outgunned
Having the shot total in their favor after 90 minutes is nothing new for
Julie Shackford's team in 2023. 10 times in the 14 games this year the Tribe have outshot their opponents and have recorded 15+ shots on nine occasions. W&M's defensive efforts have only extrapolated the shot totals between them and their opponents. The Tribe is essentially doubling their opponents in shots per contest, averaging 16.1 and only allowing eight. They are outscoring opponents 26-9 on the year.
Down the Homestretch
Entering the last two weeks of the regular season the Tribe are two points away from clinching a berth to the CAA postseason. They currently sit with 17 points in the conference table in fourth place. The top six teams will enter the conference tournament at the end of the month, with the top two seeds hosting the quarter and semifinals while getting a bye in the quarters. W&M is two points behind Hofstra for second place, a team the Tribe beat this season and hold the tiebreak over. Northeastern is in third with 18 points and will be the Green and Gold's last regular season opponent. Towson (21 points) and Hofstra have already clinched berths into the postseason.
Series History
The Tribe have had plenty of success in their previous 32 meetings with UNCW, holding a 25-6-1 advantage all-time. W&M is 12-2-1 on the road in the series but haven't played in Wilmington since 2019. The Tribe won last year's meeting 1-0 in Williamsburg; however, the Seahawks have won four of the last five.
Charleston and W&M will meet for the 11
th time on Sunday, with the Tribe leading the series over the Cougars 5-1-4. Charleston's lone win in the series came in 2018, with last year's meeting ending in a 2-2 draw at Martin Family Stadium.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW (4-7-2, 3-3-2 CAA) enters Thursday match clinging on to the sixth and final spot to make the CAA postseason with 11 points on the year. They fell to Towson 3-0 on Sunday, but beat Stony Brook last Thursday, the only team who has defeated the Tribe this year. They also have a 7-0 victory against Hampton on the ledger this year. Kayla Burroughs and Viktoria Hankova lead the offensive attack for the Seahawks with three goals each.
Scouting the Cougars
Charleston (2-8-4, 2-4-3) is still fighting to keep their postseason hopes alive, just behind UNCW with nine points. The Cougars will host Monmouth Thursday before welcoming the Tribe on Sunday. Last Sunday they earned a point in a 1-1 draw against Stony Brook. Charleston is 2-2-3 at home this season and 0-6-1 on the road. A trio of players, Bella Antonio, Shea Vidovic and Delaney Dawes, have three goals on the year for the Cougars.
