Pair of Second-Half Goals Leads Tribe Past UNCW

Junior Ryan Sells scored his first career goal for the game-winner.

10/22/06 7:00PM

Wilmington, N.C. - The William and Mary men’s soccer team scored a pair of second-half goals to pick up a valuable road victory in the CAA, downing UNC Wilmington, 2-0, on Oct. 22. W&M snapped the Seahawks’ five-match winning streak, which included a 3-0 win over then-No. 20 Old Dominion on Oct. 20. Junior Ryan Sells earned his second start of the season and scored his first career goal in the second-half, propelling the Tribe to victory. With the victory, the Tribe moved to 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-3 in the CAA, while UNCW fell to 10-6-1 on the season 5-5 in league play.

With the victory, the Tribe moves into the final of the six CAA playoff spots with one match to play. W&M and UNC Wilmington both have 15 points, but by virtue of its head-to-head win on Sunday, the Tribe holds sole possession of sixth place.

“We put together our best overall performance of the season,” head coach Chris Norris said. “We played well and deserved to get a victory. We scored two good goals in the second half and played solid defense. The guys played with a lot of effort.”

After a scoreless first half, Sells tallied his first career goal in the 58th minute. Sophomore forward Andrew Hoxie sent a shot on goal from the left side, but UNC Wilmington goalkeeper Brad Knighton made the save. Sells corralled the rebound and pushed it past a diving Seahawk defender to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead.

Hoxie tallied his 10th goal of the season in the 87th minute. The Newport News, Va., native collected a failed clearance by UNCW and beat a quartet of Seahawk defenders, before clipping the ball over the top of the UNCW goalkeeper for the clincher.

UNCW best scoring chance of the day came in the early stages of the second half. Junior goalkeeper Brennan Wergely made a pair of saves to keep the match scoreless. Midfielder Pedro Pereira hit a shot from outside the 18-yard box, but Wergley made the diving stab to knock the ball away. Defender Cameron Turney collected the rebound, but Wergley corralled his shot to deny the scoring opportunity.

Wergley finished with six saves in net to tally his second shutout of the season. W&M outshot UNC Wilmington, 16-9, including a 9-6 advantage on goal. The Tribe also held the cushion in corner kicks with six to the Seahawks’ two. Senior forward Pat Scherder led the Tribe with eight shots, including five on goal. Hoxie finished with four shots as well.

The Tribe will close out the regular season on national television. W&M will travel to Old Dominion on Oct. 26. The match can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. as part of the NSCAA/FSC College Soccer Game of the Week package.

Box Score