Late Alan Koger Header Propels Tribe Past Georgia State

Redshirt freshman Alan Koger scored the game-winner in the 89th minute, while fellow classmate Andrew McAdams came up with a big penalty kick save in the win.

10/26/07 6:45PM

Atlanta, Ga. - The William and Mary men’s soccer team notched an important Colonial Athletic Association victory in its quest for a berth in the conference tournament with a 1-0 win at Georgia State on Friday afternoon. After an impressive penalty kick save from redshirt freshman goalkeeper Andrew McAdams early in the second half, fellow classmate Alan Koger scored the game-winner on a header with two minutes remaining in the contest. The College improved to 7-6-3 overall and 4-2-1 in the CAA, while GSU fell to 4-9-1 on the year and 1-6 in the league.

“We did not play particularly well, but you have to give Georgia State a lot of credit,” head coach Chris Norris said. “They played well and put pressure on us with their possession. Andrew made a big save on the penalty kick, and we kept plugging away, knowing how important it was for us to get three points. We got a bit sharper as the game went along and scored a good goal. (Price) Thomas played the ball wide to (Doug) McBride, who served in a nice ball. Alan scored a great header to the back post.”

The host Panthers held a slim, 6-5, advantage in shots during the opening half, while the Tribe placed two shots on goal compared to GSU’s one. The first attempted on goal in the second half came from W&M as senior Ryan Overdevest saw his attempt stopped by GSU goalkeeper Filipe Carvalho.

McAdams made his first stop of the second half on an attempt from Brian Forero in the 47th minute, but the Tribe backstop made his biggest stop less than two minutes later. A Panther attacker went up for a header in the Tribe 18-yard box, and garnered a penalty kick call when a W&M defender was whistled for a push at the 48:09 mark. Floreal Pedrazo stepped to the spot for the attempt, but McAdams came up with a huge save to keep Georgia State off the scoreboard. It was the second penalty kick save of the season for McAdams.

The two teams traded scoring changes over five minute span between the 55th and 60th minutes of play. After Justin Davis had a chance denied by McAdams, W&M freshman midfielder Nathaniel Baako narrowly missed his first collegiate goal as he hit the post on a chance in the 58th minute. The Panthers came back with two shots on goal in the subsequent minutes, but McAdams made saves on chances from Eduardo Liza and Linus Warendh in the 59th and 60th minutes, respectively.

The College finally found the back of the net for the only score of the game at the 88:13 mark. Sophomore forward Price Thomas played the ball wide to junior midfielder Doug McBride. The Mechanicsville, Va., native served the ball into the penalty area and Koger got a head to the ball, sending it inside the far post for the game-winner. The goal was the fourth of the season for Koger and his second game-winner. Thomas garnered his second assist of the season, while McBride was credited with his first assist of the season and second of his W&M career.

W&M finished with a 13-12 advantage in shots and a 6-4 cushion in corner kicks. Senior Doug Ernst, Thomas, Baako and Overdevest led the Tribe with three shot apiece. McAdams finished with six saves to record his sixth shutout in the last 11 games. He lowered his goals against average to 0.91 on the season and 0.80 as a starter.

The Tribe will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 28, when it hosts UNC Wilmington. Start time is slated for a 2 p.m. start time at Albert-Daly Field.

Box Score