Saturday, Nov. 2, William and Mary men’s soccer (5-10-1, 3-4-1 CAA) defeated Coastal Athletic Association rival Stony Brook (3-10-3, 0-6-2 CAA) 2-0 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y.
Saturday’s win could not have come at a better time for the Green and Gold, who had gone 0-5-1 since its last win Sept. 28 against North Carolina Wilmington (5-8-4, 4-4 CAA).
Despite its recent struggles, William and Mary wasted no time taking control of the Seawolves on its own turf. Less than two minutes into the first half, junior midfielder Diogo Branco fired off the first shot of the match at the Stony Brook goal. Despite missing high, the early aggressive play from Branco set the tone for the Tribe offense for the rest of the match. In the next six minutes, William and Mary took two more shots, one courtesy of junior midfielder Webb Kosich and a second by Branco.
After two unsuccessful shots from Stony Brook, Branco finally found the back of the net. Branco scored the Green and Gold’s first goal of the match in the 29th minute, thanks to an assist from freshman midfielder Thor Sigurjonsson. The goal marked Branco’s second of the season and second of his collegiate career. Sigurjonsson’s assist was also his second of his impressive freshman campaign, where he has started all 14 of the Tribe’s games this season.
The Green and Gold continued pushing forward as the first half came to a close but was unable to scratch another goal across despite taking three more shots on the Seawolves’ goal. Looking to close the gap heading into the break, Stony Brook nearly tied the game in the 43rd minute, but a diving save from Tribe graduate student goalkeeper Cole McNally preserved the 1-0 William and Mary lead going into halftime.
In the beginning of the second half, William and Mary took the defensive. Stony Brook rattled off two shots within 60 seconds of each other, but both failed to find the back of the Green and Gold net. Following an unsuccessful Seawolf corner, William and Mary turned to the offensive, quickly making its way up the field. After some crafty ball movement across the pitch, junior forward Sam Delgado buried the Tribe’s second goal of the day, this time courtesy of a Branco assist. Delgado, a Rutgers transfer, has scored in five games during his first season with the Green and Gold.
Despite both team’s offenses going cold in the last 30 minutes of Saturday’s match, both teams’ players were just heating up. In the 15 minutes following Delgado’s goal, the Tribe and the Seawolves committed three fouls each, as highlighted by a Stony Brook yellow card in the 69th minute. Following more missed shots from both teams, William and Mary picked up a yellow card of its own, courtesy of sophomore midfielder Alexandros Katsari-Hoefer in the 85th minute. With less than a minute left, Stony Brook graduate student midfielder Trevor Harrison received a red card and was thrown out of the match.
Despite the physicality in the latter half of the second, William and Mary closed out its fifth shutout win of the season. The Tribe outmatched the Seawolves in nearly every aspect of the match, taking 14 shots compared to Stony Brook’s 11. The Green and Gold had two more corners and committed two fewer fouls.
Despite an overall disappointing season, William and Mary ended its 2024 campaign on a high note. The Green and Gold finished eighth in the CAA, falling two places short to qualify for the CAA championships.
With multiple starters returning next season and a new recruiting class on the way, there is no doubt that William and Mary men’s soccer will be back better than ever next year.