Tribe Battles Navy to 1-1 Draw

Senior Pat Scherder Scored in the Opening Half for W&M.

08/19/06 5:55PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie with Navy in its lone exhibition tune up of 2006 on Aug. 19 thanks to a goal from fifth-year senior forward Pat Scherder. The Tribe used a relentless first-half attack to find the scoring column, before the Midshipmen forged the draw with an early second-half goal.

“We played very well in the first half,” head coach Chris Norris said. “We were sharp and had a significant amount of the play. We definitely should have scored a few more times in the first half, given our shot advantage. In the second half, we made a few changes and had some guys playing out of position due to a few minor injuries. I was disappointed with a goal we gave up, but Navy came out and played better in the second half. It was not a bad result.”

The Tribe controlled the majority of the action during the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Midshipmen, 12-2. Junior midfielder Doug Ernst had four attempts for the Green and Gold in the opening half, including two shots on frame. In the 15th minute, Ernst saw his cut-back attempt clang off the near post on the left side.

Five minutes later, it appeared the Tribe would get on the scoreboard. Ernst ripped a shot from the left side of the 18 to the far post. The Navy goalkeeper did well to parry the ball to the left, but the rebound ended up on the foot of sophomore midfielder Brock Jones, who lifted a shot high over the crossbar from eight yards out.

The best chance for the Midshipmen in the first half was thwarted by a nice defensive play by the Tribe. The Navy attack gathered a ball in the 18, and appeared to have an open shot on frame. Senior back Brendan McCurdy made a nice sliding stop to knock the ball wide of the W&M goal in the 13th minute.

W&M finally broke through in the 37th minute on Scherder’s goal. With space in the middle of the pitch, sophomore forward Andrew Hoxie led Scherder down the left side. Scherder cut back to the right and beat the Navy goalkeeper into the right side of the net.

The Tribe nearly took a 2-0 lead thanks to some sloppy Navy defense early in the second half. With the goalkeeper coming out to corral a loose ball, a Navy defender headed the ball toward the Midshipmen goal in an attempt to gain possession. The ball narrowly missed crossing the goal line before the Navy goalkeeper punched the ball from the mouth of the goal.

Navy pulled even with a long ball in the 51st minute. Back Chris Schneider sent a long pass down the middle of field. Forward Doug DeVuono settled the ball, cut to the left and found the back of the net past diving senior goalkeeper Kris Rake.

W&M had a chance on a free kick from just outside the 18 yard box in the 75th minute. After a nice run from Scherder earned the kick on the left side of the 18, Hoxie took the attempt and lifted it high over the frame.

In the 87th minute, freshman midfielder Rob Godwin broke open down the right side. He centered the pass to Hoxie, who beat a defender to the left. The Newport News, Va., native lifted a shot over the onrushing goalkeeper, but the ball bounced off the crossbar, denying the scoring chance.

The Tribe finished the contest with a 17-4 shot advantage, including a 5-2 cushion in shots on goal. Junior Brennan Wergley played the opening 45 minutes in net for the Tribe without seeing an attempt on goal. Rake played the entire second half and made one save.

The Tribe will open the regular season against some stiff competition at the Wake Forest adidas Classic on Aug. 25-27. The College will open the season against preseason No. 1 (Soccer America) North Carolina at 5 p.m., on Friday, Aug. 25, at Spry Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. W&M will then face host and No. 16 (NSCAA) Wake Forest on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 2:30 p.m.

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