Tribe Set to Face ACC Pair

W&M will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday, Sept. 19, before hosting #15 Virginia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 22.

09/18/07 3:30PM

Williamsburg - After taking second at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic, the William and Mary men’s soccer team will take on a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference foes. The College will first travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a 7:30 p.m. date with the North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday, Sept. 19, before the No. 15 Virginia Tech Hokies travel to Williamsburg on Saturday, Sept. 22. The game against the Hokies is slated for a 7 p.m. start time at Albert-Daly Field.

The Tribe’s match up with the Tar Heels will be broadcast over the Internet at ACCSelect.com. An All Event Pass can be purchased at ACCSelect.com for $9.99 per month or a Single Event Pass for the Tribe-UNC game can be purchased for $4.99. Live stats for the contest will also be available via GameTracker by following the link at TribeAthletics.com or TarHeelBlue.com. The Tribe’s home affair with Virginia Tech will be carried via radio live over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com.

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

W&M Home Games Live Over the Internet
All nine W&M men’s soccer home matches will be broadcast live over Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Click on the Live Audio link at the top of the homepage or on the Listen Live link on the schedule.

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.

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

- Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Andrew McAdams made his first collegiate start in the Tribe’s 3-1 win over Temple, finishing with three saves.

- Junior midfielder Brock Jones assisted on the game-winning goal against Temple and scored on a penalty kick in the second half.

- Freshman Nathaniel Baako notched his first career assist against Dartmouth.

- 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 26 starts this season, assisting on two goals. The Dynamo currently lead the MLS Western Division and having already secured a playoff spot. 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.

- Redshirt freshman Alan Koger, freshman Nathaniel Baako and junior Brock Jones were named to the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team.

Scouting North Carolina
After going 0-1-2 in its first three matches of the season, North Carolina enters the game with the Tribe riding a two-match winning streak. Following back-to-back 1-1 ties with Old Dominion and Bradley, the Tar Heels notched a 3-0 win over then-No. 16 Akron, before downing rival N.C. State, 1-0. The Tar Heels are receiving votes in the adidas/NSCAA poll that was released on Sept. 18. UNC is also ranked third in the South Region.

Sophomore forward Bill Dworsky has provided the scoring punched for UNC over the last two games, scoring three of the Tar Heels four goals over the span. Dworsky leads UNC with seven points on three goals and an assist, while tallying both game-winners for UNC. Sophomore midfielder Zach Loyd, freshman midfielder Cameron Brown and junior midfielder Garry Lewis have each found the back of the net for the Tar Heels in 2007, while Joan Carvajal leads North Carolina with two assists. Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Deric has played every minute in goal for UNC, tallying 11 saves and two shutouts to go along with a 0.55 goals against average.

The Tar Heels hold a 10-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Tribe, including a 2-0 win at the adidas Wake Forest Classic last season. The W&M victory in the series came during the 1996 season when the Tribe dispatched UNC, 4-0. The last time the College traveled to Chapel Hill was 2004 when the Tar Heels tallied a 2-0 win.

Scouting #15 Virginia Tech
After dropping its season opening at VCU, 4-0, the Hokies have reeled off five consecutive victories entering its Saturday, Sept. 22, affair with the Tribe. Virginia Tech owns a pair of wins over nationally ranked foes, having defeated No. 19 Clemson, 2-1, in double overtime and No. 23 Tulsa, 3-2, on the road. The Hookies are currently ranked No. 15 in the adidas/NSCAA poll released on Sept. 18.

The Hokies sport a balanced attack with 10 different players having found the back of the net over the opening six games, including five with two goals. Preseason All-American Patrick Nyarko (2g, 1a), Ben Nason (2g, 1a), Terry Boland (2g, 1a) and Robert Edmans (1g, 3a) lead Virginia Tech in scoring with five points apiece. Marcus Reed and Stefan Hock join Nyarko, Nason and Boland with two goals on the season. Brendan Dunn has started every game in goal for Virginia Tech. He owns a goals against average of 1.58 to go along with 26 saves.

W&M holds a 10-3-1 all-time advantage in the season series with Virginia Tech. Last season, the Hokies tallied a 1-0 win in Blacksburg on a goal from defender Scott Dillie. W&M owns a 6-1-1 mark against Virginia Tech in Williamsburg. The last time the Hokies traveled to Williamsburg, the Tribe and Hokies played to a 0-0 tie in 2004.

Koger Named CAA Player of the Week
Redshirt freshman men’s soccer player Alan Koger was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Sept. 17. Koger scored three goals for the Tribe at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic on his way to earning All-Tournament team honors. Koger became the first Tribe men’s soccer player this season and the 26th overall to win the CAA weekly honor.

In the College’s 3-1 win over Temple, Koger earned his first career start and responded by providing a vital scoring punch for the Tribe. The Spencer, Va., native tallied goals just 2:16 apart in the opening 20 minutes of the play to stake the Tribe to a 2-0 advantage. W&M’s first marker came in the 17th minute of play as Koger jumped on a rebound, heading the ball into the back of the net for the goal. At the 18:46, Koger struck again to give the Tribe a little breathing room at 2-0 as he beat the Owl goalkeeper to the ball on a service from junior midfielder Brock Jones.

Koger notched his third goal of the weekend in the Tribe’s 2-1 loss to Dartmouth. The 6-2 striker scored on a breakaway following a through ball from fellow rookie Nathaniel Baako in the 30th minute of play. On the weekend, Koger registered eight shots, including six on goal.

Koger currently ranks fourth in the CAA in points with six and second in goals with three.

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 has wasted little time, putting the Tribe’s youth movement on display.

In the Tribe’s opening five games of the season, the starting XI has included no fewer than three freshmen. In both W&M contests at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic, the line up included five freshmen. Redshirt freshmen Alan Koger and Andrew McAdams were joined in the starting lineup by true freshmen Michael DiNuzzo, Nathaniel Baako and Nick Orozco in both matches. Seven freshmen saw time in the College’s 2-1 defeat to Dartmouth.

Orozco, DiNuzzo and Baako were joined in the starting XI by fellow true freshman Ian Stowe in the season opener against Elon. It marked the first time in 15 years that four true freshmen started the same game. 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. The 1992 campaign was also the last time five freshmen started at least one game during the season as Andrew Petty started eight games as well as the four players who started the NCAA Tournament affair.

The Provider
Senior Doug Ernst has firmly established himself as the Tribe’s offensive spark plug and is one of the top playmakers in the CAA. After leading the conference in assists last season with nine, Ernst has two assists in 2007. He provided the game-winning assist in the season opener against Elon and assisted on the Tribe’s first goal in its 3-1 win over Temple. Ernst ranks fifth in the CAA in assist this season.

For his career, Ernst has 14 assists. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2006 finishing third on the team with 15 points. He returns as the CAA’s assist champion, ranking No. 1 in the league in overall games and in conference contests. He dished out five assists in CAA games only in 2006

Ernst’s nine assists in 2006 were the most for a Tribe player since the 2002 season when Ralph Bean and Carlos Garcia each had 11 helpers. On two occasions in 2006, Ernst recorded multiple assist games. He tallied a pair of helps in the season-opening victory over Stony Brook and accomplished the feat again against Drexel. He became the first W&M player to notched a pair of multiple assist games in a season since Phil Hucles had two, two-assist games in 2003.