WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— The William & Mary men's soccer team attacked often throughout the second half, but it was a 52^nd minute goal that wound up being the difference, as Monmouth downed the Tribe 1-0 on Saturday in Williamsburg.
 
After an early feeling out process, the Hawks fired the first shot of the game in the 12^th minute. The Tribe defense was in the right place at the right time, however, and blocked the shot before it reached the target.
 
Aidan Morrison provided the first chance of the night for the Tribe with a shot from 20 yards out four minutes later. The attempt beat the keeper, but the sophomore walked away empty handed after the ball rattled the crossbar.
 
The Hawks had the closest call of the half in the 26^th minute off a corner. After turning a shot immediately towards goal, the ball nailed the woodwork and rebounded towards another Monmouth player. His rebound chance off a header also found the crossbar before being cleared away just in time by the Tribe.
 
The visitors push for another continued a minute later, with Ryan Eapen making back-to-back solid saves in net for W&M.
 
As time dwindled down in the half, the Tribe gave a push of their own offensively. The Green and Gold earned a pair of corners in the final five minutes, while Gabe Ruitenberg had a shot saved and another fall off target.
 
Both teams would head to the half in a scorelss tie with shots in favor of the Hawks, 7-4.
 
Eapen put his quick reflexes on display in the 48^th minute when he made a diving save to his left on a hard struck shot in the box.
 
The Hawks would find the goal they were looking for just four minutes later, scoring off a header in the 52^nd minute.
 
W&M turned up the intensity in search of an equalizer, immediately putting a pair of shots on goal from Sam Delgado and Diogo Branco. Both shots were saved however, and the match remained 1-0.
 
The Tribe kept the pedal down, taking nine of the last 10 shots in the contest, but continued to be stymied by the Hawks backline and keeper.
 
Tre Barrett, Ruitenberg and Branco all had multiple tries saved over the final 15 minutes of the match as Monmouth took a 1-0 victory back to New Jersey.
 
Illustrating the full-fledged attack by W&M, the Tribe led 13-5 in shots over the final 45 minutes and 17-12 for the match.
 
Eapen made four saves for W&M in goal, while on the other side Eryk Dymora made seven stops for the Hawks.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns to Martin Family Stadium on Tuesday when they host No. 7 North Carolina at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on FloFC. A large crowd is expected so fans are encouraged to make use of the overflow parking lot at Eastern State Hospital across from Plumeri Park.