Tribe Set to Defend ODU Stihl Soccer Classic Title

W&M will battle Temple and Dartmouth in Norfolk, Va., Sept. 14-16.

09/12/07 10:30AM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s soccer team will look to rebound from a pair of losses at the Penn State Classic when it travels to Norfolk, Va., to take part in the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic. The Tribe is the event’s defending champion after claiming the title for the first time since 1998 last season. The College will open the event against Atlantic 10 foe Temple on Friday, Sept. 14, at 4:30 p.m., before facing Ivy League opponent Dartmouth on Sunday, Sept. 16, at noon.

The College is 24-12-4 (.650) all-time at the event, winning the championship on four occasions (1987, 1992, 1998 and 2007). The Tribe has competed in the classic each of the last eight seasons and every season between 1985 and 1995, after first playing at the tournament in 1978. W&M has won both its games at the event on seven occasions (1985, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2007).

For complete W&M men's soccer notes, click HERE.

Tribe News and Notes
- W&M improved to 30-6-2 all-time in home openers with its win over Elon. The Tribe is a perfect 4-0 under head coach Chris Norris in home openers.

- The Tribe was ranked No. 9 in the South Atlantic Region according to the regional rankings released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) on Sept. 4.

- Sophomore midfielder Jeremy Harris scored his first career goal in the 55th minute to propel the Tribe to a 1-0 win over Elon.

- The Tribe was 1-0-3 in overtime games last season.

- Senior midfielder Doug Ernst registered his 13 career assist in the Tribe’s victory over Elon. Last season, he led the CAA in helpers with nine.

- Senior goalkeeper Brennan Wergley made two saves to record his sixth career shutout against Elon.

- Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Andrew McAdams made his collegiate debut in the second half against then-No. 22 Ohio State. He played the entire second half in net and finished with a save.

- Two former W&M players are currently playing professionally in Major League Soccer (MLS) and with a club in the Norway. Wade Barrett (1994-97) is in his second season with the Houston Dynamo, after captaining the club to the 2006 MLS Cup. He has earned 23 starts this season, assisting on two goals. The Dynamo currently lead the MLS Western Division. Former All-American Adin Brown (1996-99) is the first-team goalkeeper for Aalesunds FK in Norway. Brown has five shutouts in 18 games for Aalesunds FK and even scored the last-minute equalizing header against defending champion Rosenborg in July. In total, over 28 former Tribe players have played pro soccer at some level.

- The Tribe is 11-7-8 all-time at Albert-Daly Field, including a perfect 1-0 mark this season.

- Juniors Nathan Belcher and Doug McBride were named to the Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team.

- The Tribe is the defending ODU Stihl Soccer Classic Champions after going 2-0 with victories over then-No. 29 UNC Greensboro (5-1) and Loyola (Md.) (2-1) last season.

Scouting Temple
The Owls (2-1-1) are coming off a weekend that saw them capture the Drexel Invitational title with wins over Rider, 2-1, and Howard, 3-0. Temple’s lone loss on the season came to UMBC, 2-0, and the Owls opened the season with a 0-0 tie against Navy.

Junior sweeper Mackenson Altidor led the way for the Owls at Drexel, earning the Defensive MVP honor at the tournament. He was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore teammates J.T. Noone and Martin Dell’Archiprete and senior goalkeeper Trevor Lyman. Altidor also earned Atlantic-10 co-Player of the Week honors following his display at the Drexel Tournament, while freshman Max Kinderwater garnered Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week honors. He tallied the game-winning goal and an assist in the 3-0 win over Howard.

Kinderwater and Mike Minai lead Temple with three points on a goal and an assist this season. Brian Henderson, Greg Strompolos and Brian Weinhardt have also found the back of the net on the year for the Owls. Noone and David Suah lead Temple with two assist on the year. Senior Tony Practico has started three games in net for Temple, while Lyman started the last contest against Howard due to an injury to Practico. Lymann did not allow a goal in the win over Howard, while tallying two saves. Pratico has a GAA of 0.93 to go along with 10 saves on the season.

The game between W&M and Temple will be the first-ever between the two schools.

Scouting Dartmouth
The Big Green is 1-1-1 on the season after finishing the Yale Classic at 1-0-1 with a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart and a 0-0 tie with No. 10 Northwestern last week. Dartmouth dropped its opening game of the year at home, 2-1, to UMass in overtime. The Big Green have won three of the last five Ivy League Championships, including garnering the No. 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2005.

Junior goalkeeper Sean Milligan was named the Ivy League Player of the Week following a pair of shutouts at the Yale Classic. Milligan made three stops against Sacred Heart and five saves against Northwestern. He was joined on the all-tournament team with senior defenders Ale Frischeisen and Tom Lobben.

Craig Henderson leads the Big Green with four points on two goals. He tallied the game-winner against Sacred Heart. Andrew Olsen has also found the back of the net for Dartmouth, while Matt Carroll has the Big Green’s lone assist. Mulligan has played every minute in net for Dartmouth. He has a GAA of 0.61 to go along with 11 saves.

The game will be the first meeting between the Tribe and Big Green.

Defending Champs
By virtue of its victories over then-No. 29 UNC Greensboro, 5-1, and Loyola (Md.), 2-1, W&M claimed the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic last season. The Tribe and host ODU both finished with perfect 2-0 record, but the Tribe took the title as a result of a better goal differential thanks in large part to its offensive outburst against UNC Greensboro.

In the opening match of the classic, the Tribe scored early and often in the victory over the Spartans. Forward Pat Scherder started the barrage with a goal in the fifth minute, before fellow frontrunner Andrew Hoxie added the second, sending the College to a 2-0 halftime lead. Scherder added his second and Doug Ernst scored in the 70th minute before the Spartans got on the board three minutes later. Hoxie iced the game with his second tally of the contest in the closing minutes.

In the second game of the classic against Loyola (Md.), the Tribe again scored early on a goal from Ernst in the 17th minute, but the Greyhounds tied it up before the half. Brock Jones added what proved to be the game-winner a minute into the second stanza as the Tribe dominated the second 45 minutes, outshooting Loyola (Md.), 14-4.

Hoxie earned the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic MVP honor and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Ernst, Scherder and Jones.

Youthful Exuberance
A glance at the Tribe roster will bring about one common theme, youth. The W&M roster features 17 of 25 players, who are underclassmen (freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores). Head coach Chris Norris wasted little time putting his young squad to work in the opener against Elon.

For the first time in 15 years, a W&M starting lineup including four true freshmen. Rookies Nick Orozco, Michael DiNuzzo, Ian Stowe and Nathaniel Baako started their first collegiate games against the Phoenix and were joined in the starting XI by fellow underclassmen, sophomores Roger Bothe and Jeremy Harris. The last time a W&M starting lineup included four true freshmen was Nov. 14, 1992 when Chris Scrofani, Tim Pricso, Bill Owens and Greg Richards started the Tribe’s First Round NCAA Tournament victory over West Virginia.

In total against Elon, nine underclassmen made their way onto the pitch. True freshman Peter Christmas and redshirt freshman Alan Koger both made their debuts against the Phoenix as well. True freshman Derek Buckley and redshirt freshman Andrew McAdams also made their collegiate debuts for the Tribe at the Penn State Classic. Buckley came off the bench in both games against Penn State and Ohio State, while McAdams played the entire second-half in goal for W&M.