Tribe Falls in CAA Quarterfinals to Towson, 2-1

Senior midfielder Doug Ernst scored the W&M goal in the second half of play.

11/13/07 5:00PM

Towson, Md. - The William and Mary men’s soccer team saw the 2007 season come to a close on Tuesday afternoon, falling to host Towson in the CAA Quarterfinals, 2-1. After Towson scored less than three minutes into the contest, the No. 5-seeded Tribe equalized five minutes into the second half, only to see the No. 4-seeded Tigers claim the victory with a goal in the 87th minute. The College finished the season at 9-9-3 overall, while Towson advanced to the CAA Semifinals, improving to 11-7-1 on the season.

Despite going to the half, trailing 1-0, the Tribe was the more dangerous of the two teams in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Tigers, 8-5 overall and 3-1 on goal. Towson though found the scoring column first at the 2:38 mark of the opening half. After the W&M defense cleared a corner kick out of the penalty area, it was corralled by Nino Mangione along the left side of the pitch. Mangione one-timed a shot from 20 yards out toward the back post that hit off the woodwork and in for the initial goal of the contest.

Just over 10 minutes before halftime, the College had a dangerous opportunity in the penalty area. Freshman Ian Stowe and sophomore Price Thomas had a nice combo that set Thomas free on a 1-v-1 with a Towson defender. The Tribe’s leading scorer juked the defender and appeared to be taken down by the Tiger defender, while cutting back to the middle of the penalty area. The referee waved play on, denying the W&M plea for a penalty kick.

Less than a minute later, the Tribe were painstakingly close to evening the match at one. Thomas’ shot from the right side of the penalty area beat Towson goalkeeper Billy Chiles as he mishandled the shot. The ball rolled along the goal line, before a Towson defender got back to clear it off the line.

Senior Doug Ernst found the equalizer for the College in the 57th minute of play. Stowe played the ball through to Ernst, setting up on a foot race down the left flank. Racing into the penalty area, Ernst flipped the ball over the top of Chiles as he came off his line to knot things at one. The goal was Ernst’s second of the season and the helper was the first collegiate point of Stowe’s career.

W&M’s best chance for the go-ahead goal came in the 77th minute. Stowe carried the ball through the midfield and dished to junior Nathan Belcher at the top of the 18. The 6-6 striker balled the back toward Stowe, who was there along with Thomas. Thomas appeared to have a clean shot on goal, but was whistled off sides as he shot deflected off the Towson goalkeeper and over the cross bar.

The Tribe continued to push forward, controlling the pace of play in the waning moment of the second half, until the Tiger broke through on a counter. The initial counter chance was snuffed out by the Tribe defense, but redshirt freshman goalkeeper Andrew McAdam’s clearance was gather along the right side of the midfield by Pat Healey. The Towson midfielder dribbled down the sideline before sending a cross to the top of the 18, where reserve forward Matt Beckman turned to the left and finished into the left side of the net with 3:45 remaining.

The Tribe had a pair of shots over the final four minutes, but could not find the equalizer. After a corner kick was cleared out, junior Doug McBride sent a shot from 30 yards out on the left side that went just wide of the far post less than 40 seconds after the Towson goal.

W&M pushed everyone forward, including McAdams, with 30 seconds remaining on a corner kick. The corner was deflected back out to Thomas along the left wing, and he sent a low cross that made its way to the back post. McAdams placed a sliding half volley on frame, but Chiles eventually secured the attempt after initially bobbling the shot.

Each team finished with 14 shots and six corner kicks in the contest. Freshman midfielder Nathaniel Baako led the Tribe with four shots on the afternoon. McAdams finished the day with four saves.

Box Score