Saturday, Oct. 5, William and Mary men’s soccer (4-6, 2-2 CAA) fell to No. 17 Elon (8-2-1, 4-1 CAA) 2-1 at Rudd Field in Elon, N.C.
Coming off a 4-0 shutout against North Carolina, Wilmington (2-4-4, 2-2 CAA) last week, the Tribe looked to continue its strong Coastal Athletic Association play on Saturday.
The Green and Gold heavily relied on its defense in the first half. Though the first 15 minutes saw back-and-forth action, the Phoenix offense ultimately took control.
In the 28th minute, Elon junior midfielder Connor Mucchetti attempted to put the Phoenix on the scoreboard with a header. William and Mary sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Eapen caught the ball before it reached the top left back of the net, recording his first save of the game.
The Tribe defense had little time to recover. In the 30th minute, sophomore midfielder Aidan Morrison deflected an Elon free kick targeting the center of the net, keeping the score knotted at 0-0.
Just over seven minutes later, Elon sophomore forward Jordin Wilson failed to convert on a shot of his own, courtesy of another Eapen save.
The final four minutes of the half saw fast-pace offensive action from the Phoenix.
After back-to-back attempts from Elon senior midfielder Calle Edelstam in the 41st and 42nd minutes, the Phoenix finally opened the scoring.
At the 41 minute, 22 second mark, Elon senior midfielder Scott Vatne fired the ball into the top left corner of the net, thanks to an Edelstam assist.
Three minutes later, Phoenix redshirt junior midfielder Ryan Manna crossed the ball to senior forward Petro Klishch. Klishch headed the ball past Eapen, securing Elon’s second goal of the half and extending the Phoenix lead to 2-0.
Outshot 8-0 in the first half, the Green and Gold successfully picked up its offensive pace in the remaining 45 minute half of play.
Freshman forward Tre Barrett — who scored two of the Tribe’s four goals against UNCW last week — recorded William and Mary’s first shot on goal at the 48:39 mark. The Tribe defense stayed on guard, with Eapen making a diving save to his right just under two minutes later.
In the 54th minute, Morrison received the ball from Tribe sophomore midfielder/forward Gabe Ruitenberg and attempted to put the Green and Gold on the scoreboard.
Though his shot failed to convert, Morrison struck back in the 61st minute. Following a corner, Morrison received the ball just outside the 6-yard box, slotting it past Elon senior goalkeeper Tomasz Wroblewski. The goal marked Morrison’s second of the season and fourth for the Tribe.
The Tribe defense remained vigilant, with Eapen securing his fourth and final save of the matchup at the 66:18 mark.
Despite persistent efforts, the Green and Gold failed to equalize the score.
At the 80:39 mark, junior defender Bryce Smith attempted to even up the game with a shot off the top right corner. However, the ball failed to pass Wroblewski, keeping the score at 2-1.
In the 81st minute, William and Mary junior forward Sam Delgado came close to finding another Tribe goal. Wroblewski saved Delgado’s shot from the middle of the box, which targeted the bottom left corner of the goal.
Despite earning two more corner kicks in the remaining 10 minutes of the game, the Tribe fell short, and the score remained at 2-1.
Although the Phoenix outshot the Green and Gold 15-9, the away team held an impressive 9-7 edge in the second half.
Additionally, Eapen posted a .667 save percentage, contributing four more saves to his season total of 34.
Saturday, Oct. 12, William and Mary aims to get back in the win column against Monmouth (5-1-5, 2-3 CAA) at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, Va.
