Norfolk, Va. - Senior Pat Scherder and sophomore Andrew Hoxie scored two goals apiece as the William and Mary men's soccer team routed No. 29 (College Soccer News) UNC Greensboro, 5-1, in the opening game of the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic on Sept. 15. After dropping all four of its games to ranked foes, the Tribe turned the table in improving to 3-4 on the season, while UNC Greensboro fell to 4-3.

"It was a good win for us," head coach Chris Norris said. "We scored two goals early in and road that momentum into the half. UNC Greensboro has a dangerous attack with two national player of the year candidates, so we knew we needed to keep up the pressure in the second half. We scored early in the second half, and didn't allow them to get on the board until it was 4-0. I am proud of how the guys played against a quality opponent."

Coupled with its 5-0 victory over VMI on Sept. 8, W&M notched back-to-back games of five more goals. It marked the first time since the 2003 campaign that the Tribe scored five or more times in two games during a season. The last time the Tribe scored five or more goals in back-to-back games was during the 2001 campaign. That season, the College defeated College of Charleston, 5-0, on Sept. 1, before notching a 6-1 win over Marist on Sept. 3.

In 1-0 losses to then-No. 16 Wake Forest, then-No. 24 South Carolina and then-No. 8 Virginia Tech, the Tribe allowed their opponents to score in the opening 15 minutes of play, digging itself an early hole. The College did just the opposite on Friday night, as Scherder tallied his second goal of the season off an assist from junior midfielder Doug Ernst in just the fourth minute of play. The goal came on the game's initial shot as Ernst tallied his team-leading third helper.

W&M wasted little time making it 2-0. At the 12:20 mark, Scherder found Hoxie, who head home the Tribe's second goal of the contest. W&M took the two-goal cushion to the locker room. Despite leading 2-0, Norris pushed his players to come out in the second half just as hungry to score, noting UNCG had a pair of offensive threats in Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Candidates Randi Patterson and Scott Jones.

The Tribe need to look no further than last season's game against UNCG to see how fragile a two-goal lead is. The W&M-UNCG game a season ago in Greensboro went to the half 2-0, only the Spartans led at the intermission. In that contest, the Tribe overcame the two-goal deficit with an equalizer in the 81st minute, before Greensboro scored with less than a minute to play in claiming the victory.

The College would allow no comeback on this night and heeded its head coach's advice. Scherder scored his second goal of the contest just over six minutes into the six minutes into the second stanza off a deflection pushing W&M to a 3-0 cushion. The two-goal game marked the first of Scherder's Tribe career.

Ernst added to the Tribe lead with his second goal of the season in the 69th minute to give W&M a 4-0 cushion. Sophomore midfielder Brock Jones notched the first point of the season assisting on Ernst's tally.

UNC Greensboro finally found the back of the net in the in the 72nd minute on a goal from Patterson, but it was too little too late. Hoxie tallied his team-leading fourth goal of the season for the capper with just over two minutes remaining. Senior forward Jarrett Thomas was credited with the assist on the play, his second in as many games. The two-goal game was the second of Hoxie's career.

Senior goalkeeper Kris Rake continued his solid play in net. The Flower Mound, Texas native stopped four shots, all in the second half, helping W&M jump out to a 4-0 lead.

The Tribe will face Loyola (Md.) at noon on the final day of the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic, Sunday, Sept. 17. W&M holds an 11-9-3 all-time series advantage over the Greyhounds. The Tribe won the last meeting between the two schools, 2-1, at Loyola on Sept. 18, 2004. The Greyhounds are 0-5-1 on the season following a 3-0 loss to Old Dominion in the second game of the classic.

Box Score