WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Freshman Aidan Gatchell recorded the first multi-goal game of his collegiate career as William & Mary men's soccer rolled to a 4-0 victory over Howard on Thursday evening at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
Gatchell scored in the 18th and 70th minutes and added an assist to finish with a career-high five points. Freshman Brown Huffard and sophomore Beckham Harris also found the back of the net as the Tribe scored three second-half goals to secure its sixth victory of the season.
The victory improved William & Mary to 6-5-1 overall, marking the program's most wins in a season since finishing with seven in 2021. The four-goal performance was W&M's highest scoring output since a 4-1 victory over Radford on Aug. 23.
Gatchell has scored three goals over his last two matches and now leads the Green and Gold with five goals, six assists and 16 points. Senior Gabe Ruitenberg recorded two assists against the Bison, moving his season total to six and giving him 14 points.
Huffard scored his fourth goal of the season, while Harris added his second. Sophomore Damen Burney, freshman Sullivan Carter and senior Alex Kochell each contributed an assist.
The Tribe dominated offensively, holding a 21-2 advantage in shots and a 9-3 edge in corner kicks. W&M put nine shots on goal while limiting Howard to just one attempt on frame.
Senior Diego Garciarena made one save to record his third shutout of the season and eighth of his collegiate career. The clean sheet was also the Tribe's third of the year.
First Half
Howard generated the first opportunity of the evening in the ninth minute when Zach Simmons put an attempt on goal, but Garciarena made the save to keep the match scoreless.
The Tribe broke through at the 17:57 mark when Ruitenberg set up Gatchell for his fourth goal of the season, giving W&M a 1-0 advantage.
W&M continued to apply pressure throughout the opening half. Ruitenberg put an attempt on frame in the 23rd minute before Burney struck the left post less than a minute later. Harris followed with a shot on goal that Howard goalkeeper Josh Snyder turned away.
Huffard nearly doubled the lead in the 27th minute, but his attempt struck the crossbar.
Junior Thor Sigurjonsson forced another save from Snyder in the 31st minute before sophomore Alex Garrison hit the crossbar in the 34th.
The Tribe finished the opening 45 minutes with a 10-1 advantage in shots, carrying its 1-0 lead into halftime.
Second Half
W&M picked up where it left off after the break, with Gatchell forcing a save from Snyder in the 50th minute.
The Tribe doubled its advantage at the 58:06 mark when Huffard scored his fourth goal of the season off assists from Burney and Gatchell, extending the lead to 2-0.
W&M continued to create opportunities as Harris put another attempt on frame before Gatchell and Huffard added shots over the next several minutes.
Gatchell struck again at the 69:49 mark, finishing off assists from Ruitenberg and Carter for his second goal of the evening and fifth of the season. The goal pushed the Tribe's advantage to 3-0 and completed the freshman's first career multi-goal performance.
Just over three minutes later, Harris added to the lead, scoring at the 73:06 mark off an assist from Kochell to make it 4-0.
The Green and Gold controlled the remainder of the contest, holding Howard without a shot on goal in the second half to secure the shutout victory.
Up Next
William & Mary closes out its three-game homestand Tuesday, Oct. 13, hosting Navy at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., with the match streamed live on FloCollege.
