WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— The William & Mary men's soccer team returns to Martin Family Stadium for their first home matches of the season, hosting Longwood on Wednesday and No. 24 Hofstra on Saturday.
Kickoff for Wednesday's match is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on FloFC. The CAA opener against the Pride will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Clear Bag Policy
William & Mary Athletics, in conjunction with the William & Mary Police Department, has implemented a clear bag policy that regulates the size and type of bag that may be carried into W&M Athletics facilities during the 2024-25 year, including Busch Field, Kaplan Arena, Martin Family Stadium, Plumeri Park, and Zable Stadium. Information as well as approved and prohibited items is available at
TribeAtheltics.com.
TRIBE NOTES
Last Time Out
The Tribe dropped an entertaining contest at New Hampshire, 3-2, on Saturday evening to fall to 1-1-0 on the season. The Wildcats, who began the year ranked inside the top-10 nationally, grabbed the lead in the 13
th minute. W&M would tie the game before halftime, scoring off an own goal in the 37
th minute. UNH responded after the break with goals in the 49
th and 61
st minute to take a 3-1 lead. The Tribe would cut the deficit to one just nine minutes later when
Sam Delgado scored off a header with assists from
Lucas Caldas and
Tre Barrett. W&M was unable to complete the comeback however, with UNH hanging on for a 3-2 win in the final minutes.
Spectacular Start for Sam
Sam Delgado wasted no time getting his college career off the ground the opening weekend of the season. The Vienna, Va. native transferred to W&M from Rutgers where he did not see action for two years. Delgado made his collegiate debut in the season opener at Binghamton and earned his first career assist seven minutes into the contest on a
Lucas Caldas goal. He picked up his first career goal in the 70
th minute in Saturday's match at UNH, pulling the Tribe within one, 3-2.
Living Up to the Hype
Fresh off earning All-CAA Second Team a year ago, and All-CAA Preseason honors this year,
Lucas Caldas showed exactly why he was deserving of those honors in the opening week of 2024. The junior scored two goals, both in the first 31 minutes, during the Tribe's 3-0 win at Binghamton Wednesday. Caldas then picked up his first assist on the Delgado goal Saturday at UNH, heading a cross from
Tre Barrett toward Delgado who finished the play off.
Fab Frosh
Tre Barrett, a native of nearby Hampton, Va., has made his presence felt for the Tribe just two games into his freshman season. During his collegiate debut, in the opener at Binghamton, Barrett capped a long run with the ball by scoring off a strike from the top of the box. He added his first career assist on Saturday at UNH, perfectly placing a cross at the back post, setting up Caldas and Delgado to finish off the play.
Home Openers and CAA Openers
The Tribe has posted a 4-2 record in their last six home openers at Martin Family Stadium including last year's lid lifter against Binghamton. When it comes to conference openers the Tribe will hope to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday.
Scouting the Lancers
Longwood enters Wednesday's match with a record 0-1-1, 0-0 Big South and travel to Williamsburg after more than a week off. The Lancers began their season with a loss to East Tennessee State before earning a 2-2 draw against Liberty last Monday.
Scouting the Pride
The preseason favorites in the CAA, No. 24 Hofstra opened their season with a scoreless tie with Fordham but has since rattled off three straight wins. The Pride have beaten American (4-1), Providence (2-0) and Binghamton (3-2) to enter Saturday's match at 3-0-1, 0-0 CAA).
History with the Lancers and Pride
The Tribe has dominated the all-time series with Longwood, holding an 8-0-2 record in the 10 meetings between the programs. The two ties have come in the last two meetings however, both being 1-1 draws the last two years.
Longtime CAA rivals, Saturday's game at Martin Family Stadium will be the rubber match between the Tribe and the Pride, splitting the previous 28 meetings 12-12-4.
