Tribe Set for Pair of CAA Road Affairs

W&M will travel to Towson on Oct. 19 and George Mason on Oct. 21.

10/18/07 12:30PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s soccer team will begin the most difficult portion of its Colonial Athletic Association schedule with five of its next six matches on the road. The College will travel to face Towson on Friday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m., before battling George Mason on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. W&M is currently 6-5-2 on the season and tied for third in the CAA at 3-1.

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

Tribe News and Notes
- For the second time this season, W&M garnered a regional ranking. The Tribe are No. 10 in the South Atlantic Region poll released by the NSCAA on Oct. 16.

- The Tribe was No. 64 in the Division I midseason RPI standings released by the NCAA on Oct. 15. W&M is listed third among CAA schools behind Old Dominion (No. 40) and Drexel (No. 52).

- W&M has started at least five freshmen in each of its last 10 contests, going 5-3-2 over the stretch. For the first time in school history, the Tribe started six freshmen in its CAA opening wins over Hofstra and Northeastern.

- Senior Ryan Overdevest and junior Doug McBride are the W&M captains for 2007.

- Sophomore Price Thomas has registered a point in each of the Tribe’s last seven matches, while scoring a goal in the last four contests.

- Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Andrew McAdams made his first collegiate start in the Tribe’s 3-1 win over Temple, finishing with three saves. In games in which McAdams starts, W&M is 5-3-2 with a goals against average of 0.95.

- Seven W&M player have garnered their first collegiate points in 2007. Redshirt freshman Alan Koger scored his first collegiate goal in the Tribe’s victory over Temple, while sophomore Jeremy Harris opened the season with his first marker against Elon and junior Doug McBride scored his first career goal at Stony Brook. Most recently, sophomore Roger Bothe tallied his first career goal on a PK against JMU. Reshirt freshman Andrew McAdams (assist vs. American) and freshmen Nathanial Baako (assist vs. Dartmouth) and Michael DiNuzzo (assist vs. Temple) tallied their first career points on assists this season.

- 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 29 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 20 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 15-8-9 all-time at Albert-Daly Field, including a 5-1-1 mark this season.

- 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.

- 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.

-W&M was greeted by a boisterous crowd of 667 when its hosted then-No. 15 Virginia Tech. It was the largest crowd for the Tribe since a crowd of 850 versus North Carolina in 2005.

Scouting Towson
Towson enters its match with the Tribe at 6-4-1 overall and 3-1 in the CAA. The Tigers had their 14-match CAA unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of Drexel, 2-1, on Oct. 12, before rebounding to close out the weekend with a 3-0 win over Delaware on Oct. 14. The Tigers are ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA South Atlantic Region standings.

The Tribe and Tigers have one common opponent this season in Stony Brook. Towson defeated the Seawolves, 2-1, at home in overtime, while the Tribe suffered a 2-1 defeat at Stony Brook.

Towson is the No. 3 scoring offense in the country at 2.45 goals per game. Pat Healey leads the Tigers in scoring with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Cesar Cisneros, Matt Beckman, Kevin Ruck and Angus Burke each of a three goals on the season for Towson. Cinsneros and Beckman each have double-digit points for TU at 11 and 10, respectively. Cisneros leads Towson in assists with five. Billy Chiles has played every minute in goal for the Tigers and has a goals against average of 1.21 to go along with 61 saves and three shutouts.

W&M leads the all-time series with Towson at 5-2-2, including a 2-1-2 mark at Towson. The Tigers have won two of the last three matches between the two schools with the 2005 affair ending in a tie. Last season, Towson downed W&M, 3-0, in Williamsburg.

Scouting George Mason
The Patriots enter the weekend at 5-5-1 on the season and 2-2 in the CAA. George Mason will host Old Dominion on Friday, Oct. 19, before welcoming the Tribe to Fairfax, Va. Last weekend, GMU split its CAA affairs, winning at Delaware, 1-0, in double overtime, before falling to Drexel, 1-0.

The Tribe and Patriots have one common opponent on the year in American. GMU fell to the Eagles at home, 2-1, while W&M downed AU, 1-0, in Williamsburg.

Freshman Fro Adu, the younger brother of American soccer star Freddy Adu, leads the Patriots with three goals on the season. Irvin Martinez shares team high-scoring honors with Adu, having registered six points (2g, 2a) on the year. Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe also has two goals on the season for George Mason. Sean Kelley has started every game in goal for GMU. He has a goals against average of 1.10 to go along with 43 saves and three shutouts.

The Tribe leads the all-time series with George Mason at 21-13-4, including a slim 7-6-2 advantage in Fairfax. Last season, the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Williamsburg.

Looking Into His Crystal Ball
W&M head coach Chris Norris has been spot on each of the last two seasons when noting Tribe players on the verge of a breakout season. Last season, Norris said he felt it was time for midfielder Doug Ernst to step to the forefront for the College, and the Alexandria, Va., native went on to lead the CAA in assists with nine. This season, Norris said he expected big things from sophomore Price Thomas, and the Charlottesville, Va., native has followed suit.

With W&M limited at the forward position this season, Thomas has stepped in to fill the void alongside blossoming redshirt freshmen striker Alan Koger. Thomas, who started 17 of 19 matches as a true freshman in the midfield, is starting to establish himself as one of the more dangerous players in the CAA with the ball at his feet. In each of the Tribe’s last seven games, the Charlottesville, Va., native has registered a point for the Tribe. Over the stetch, he has tallied six goals and an assist to lead the Tribe in scoring. Thomas has tallied game-winners in three of the Tribe’s last six matches, scoring the decisive goal against American on Sept. 25, in the CAA opener versus Hofstra on Oct. 5 and vs. VCU on Oct. 14.

Thomas ranks among the CAA leaders on points, goals and game-winning goals. He leads the league in game-winning goals with three, while ranking third in goals (6) and fourth in points (13).

Youth Movement
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 not only putting the Tribe’s youth movement on display, but relying on it to win matches for the College.

In the College’s CAA opening wins over Hofstra and Northeastern, the Tribe lineup featured six freshmen. It marked the first time in school history that six freshmen have started together in a match. In fact, in each of the Tribe’s last 10 matches, five or more freshmen have started. The Tribe is a remarkable 5-3-2 over that stretch.

Against Hofstra on Oct. 5, the Tribe starting XI featured redshirt freshmen Andrew McAdams and Alan Koger along with true freshmen Nick Orozco, Michael DiNuzzo, Derek Buckley and Nathaniel Baako. The youth movement didn’t stop there as nine of the 11 starters were underclassmen with sophomores Roger Bothe, Price Thomas and Jeremy Harris joining the fold.

In the College’s season-opening win over Elon, the starting XI featured four true freshmen (Nick Orozco, Michael DiNuzzo, Nathaniel Baako and Ian Stowe). 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.