In the first round of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament, the women’s soccer team tied the United States Naval Academy after a grueling 110 minutes of play, only to fall short by one goal in penalty kicks.

p. Although Navy boasted a record of 21-0-1, the Tribe played hard, as the first half was almost even. Junior midfielder Donna Mataya started off the game with a shot just wide left, only to be followed by a blocked shot from sophomore forward Claire Zimmeck. Each team fired back and forth until the 17th minute, when senior midfielder Katie Hogwood fired a shot to the upper left corner, only to be denied by Navy’s fierce goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes. Each goalie made five crucial saves, one by Tribe sophomore goalie Meghan Walker in the 30th minute. Defense grew tighter as sophomore back Dani Collins had the only two shots on goal in the last 10 minutes of the half.

p. In the second half, the play continued to go back and forth, with most of the action in the midfield. Zimmeck heated things up as she swiftly beat two defenders, only to shoot wide left once again.
Defensively, Walker continued to play strongly as she came off her line and blocked Navy’s offense twice. Sophomore midfielder Abby Lauer made an outstanding defensive move as she got the ball out of the danger zone and obtained a goal kick for the Tribe. Furthermore, in the 70th minute, sophomore back Meredith Brown warded off the Navy’s vigorous attack with sheer determination and resistance.

p. With only one minute left to play, the crowd held its breath as Walker snatched a free kick out of the air and pursued the Tribe’s third fast break of the night, off of which senior midfielder Tiffany Chudoba gained a corner kick. Unfortunately, once again the College’s attack was halted by the midshipmen’s powerhouse defense and the two teams faced a heated overtime.

p. In the first overtime, both teams again volleyed back and forth. Walker made her fourth amazing save from a shot just out of the box. Lauer and Collins continued to attempt attacks only to be blocked by Navy’s goalie. In the second overtime, Zimmeck almost sealed the game as she vehemently battled the ball away from the goalie, only to have it stolen by another Navy defender. On defense, Walker had no action and went into penalty kicks with five outstanding saves and a new average of .68.

p. After a long, hard-fought game, the outcome came down to penalty kicks. Star offensive players Collins, Mataya and Lauer started the Tribe off on the right foot by keeping even with Navy. Amazingly, Walker turned away Navy’s fourth attempt and sophomore midfielder Laura Rochford brilliantly fired a shot into the lower left corner, putting the Tribe ahead by one. Navy then made their fifth shot and Zimmeck’s chance to put the game away was crushed as her shot deflected over the bar. Navy scored on their sixth penalty kick and then stopped freshman midfielder Kendall Stone’s shot to ensure a Navy victory.

p. “In penalty kicks there is always an element of a lottery about the outcome,” Head Coach John Daly said. “One wrong guess and the game can be over.”

p. Although the Tribe was unable to advance, they still had an overwhelmingly successful season — winning 16 games and finishing with only one loss, the fewest losses in a season in school history. Furthermore, with a 10-0-1 record in the CAA, the Tribe set a new school record for wins in a season.

p. “It was an outstanding season, with tremendous leadership and team chemistry being the two most important factors,” Daly said.
“We suffered only one loss the entire season and there was a ‘feel good’ factor all season that helped us believe we could compete with the best.”

The Tribe entered Saturday’s game with confidence, going up against a struggling University of Delaware defense and the memory of their 29-point, 630-yard offensive performance against Towson University still fresh, but the Blue Hen defense had other plans. Delaware forced three turnovers while holding the Tribe to 324 yards on their way to a 28-14 victory. The loss ensured that the College will not reach five wins for the first time in 23 seasons.

p. “I think [Delaware] did some things pretty well, and they played well on defense. They broke on the ball and made some good plays,” Tribe Head Coach Jimmye Laycock said. “But [junior quarterback] Mike Potts probably made some poor decisions … I think he would like to have a couple of his throws back. He made some very good decisions, very good throws, but a couple of them were probably not what he wanted to do.”

p. Potts was intercepted three times by a Delaware team that had been ranked last in the Atlantic-10 in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. In addition, Delaware had allowed at least 40 points and 500 yards of offense in their last two games, both losses.

p. “I think we have been embarrassed as coaches and players the last few weeks with our play on defense,” Delaware Head Coach K.C. Keller said. “It was refreshing today to see the defense step up and make plays. That was the key to the ball game. You have to make a few big plays to get your confidence back, and that’s what we did today.”

p. Delaware and the College traded turnovers on their first possessions as Blue Hen quarterback Joe Flacco and Potts were both intercepted. Delaware’s second drive ended exactly like their first as freshman defensive back David Caldwell jumped in front of a Flacco pass for the first interception of his young career. Potts seized the opportunity and proceeded to lead the offense 71 yards on 10 plays, capping the drive with a 16-yard connection to junior wide receiver Joe Nicholas for the touchdown. Nicholas would finish with five catches for 50 yards on the day.

p. Flacco recovered from his two early blunders as the junior signal-caller rallied Delaware’s offense for 14 points in the second quarter. He was aided by the return of 2005 All-American rusher Omar Cuff, who had missed four of the previous five games due to an ankle injury. Cuff amassed 93 yards on the ground and got into the end zone on a one-yard run with just 34 seconds remaining in the first half.

p. The Blue Hens made strides to separate themselves from the College in the fourth quarter as Flacco threw a bullet to wide-open tight end Ben Patrick for a nine-yard score. However, Potts and the Tribe offense looked impressive on their ensuing drive as Potts engineered an 80-yard, 12-play march that resulted in senior full back Matt Otey’s fourth career touchdown reception, a two-yard strike to move the Tribe within seven points.

p. Unfortunately, the defense could not stop the combination of Flacco and Cuff as Delaware took the kickoff and drove downfield. Flacco extended the Blue Hen lead to 28-14 on a three-yard scamper with just 3:19 remaining. The Tribe’s fate was sealed on their next possession as Potts was intercepted for the third and final time deep in Delaware territory.

p. “[The loss was] disappointing because we were playing better and improving in a lot of areas, but we still are not putting it all together all the time,” Laycock said.

p. One of the bright spots and obvious signs of improvement for the Tribe has been the emergence of redshirt freshman wide receiver R.J. Archer. Archer led the Tribe in receiving yards for the second week in a row as he hauled in five balls for 80 yards.

p. “[Archer] is a very good athlete and he has a great knack for making plays, making catches,” Laycock said. “The thing we lack offensively with our receivers is the ability to make plays, to make a hard catch, and R.J. has done that.”

p. While the Tribe allowed over 400 yards of total offense for the fifth time in the last six weeks, the play of senior Chris Ndubueze has continued to be strong. Ndubueze recorded five tackles, including the Tribe’s sole sack of the afternoon. On the season, Ndubueze leads the Tribe with 70 total tackles and is tied for second with four quarterback sacks. He ranks third on the team with six tackles for loss.

p. “In the last part of the season, I don’t know if we have had a defensive player who has played as consistently well as Chris [Ndubueze] has,” Laycock said. “He’s played very hard and I think one of things that’s helped him is that we have turned him loose a little bit more and put him into some more blitzing situations, which has gotten him going even more so.”

p. Delaware, a perennial powerhouse in the Atlantic-10, has been suffering through a season very similar to that of the College — marred by injury, inconsistency and lost chances. Heading into the contest, the two teams compared favorably to each other, but the problems the Tribe had seen all year surfaced, giving Delaware the upper hand.

p. “We showed a lack of consistency,” Laycock said following the loss. “Too many times in one-on-one matchups, whether on offense or defense, we were not able to come out on top, and when teams are fairly evenly matched, you’ve got to win some of those matchups to push over the top. They got us more than we got them.”

Thursday night, the Tribe faced local rival University of Richmond. Led by junior Kyra Kaylor’s 18 points, the College secured a 67-54 win over the Spiders. Close behind was sophomore guard Dani Kell, who led the scoring at halftime and finished with 16 points on the night. Junior guard Devin James also added 12 points. The team now stands at 1-1, having lost their season opener to the University of Maine last Saturday.

p. Despite the constant change of possession, the Tribe held its composure against Richmond throughout the game. With only a four-point lead at halftime, the College wasted no time in the second half. In the opening play, senior guard Sarah Stroh drained a three-pointer to put the Tribe up by seven. Although Richmond retaliated with a quick jumper, James and Kell scored back to back buckets to put the Tribe ahead 38-29.

p. Rampant scoring continued on both ends as the Tribe led the Spiders 47-38 at the 11:50 media timeout. Richmond then outscored the College 9-6 to cut the lead to six points and force a time-out. With 3:20 remaining, Kaylor hit a clutch three-pointer and the Tribe never looked back. Coming up big down the stretch, Kaylor knocked down eight of her nine free-throws, and James and Kell tallied a combined three points from the line.

p. Although Richmond never backed down, the Tribe did not let the Spiders within nine points for the remainder of the game. By a final margin of 67-54, the College recorded its first win of the season. Again, the Tribe held a 37-32 advantage on the boards, shooting 55 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free-throw line.

p. The team dropped its first contest of the season to Maine Nov. 11. The lead changed hands several times throughout the first half, and the Tribe only trailed by seven going into the locker room. James led the College, scoring 15 points and securing 11 rebounds to earn a double-double. Kaylor added nine points and eight rebounds. Their efforts did not suffice, however, as Maine outscored the Tribe 32-19 in the second half to secure the win.
Scoring was slow to start the game, but the Tribe picked up the intensity after the first media time-out when Stroh scored the game’s first three-pointer to give the College a 7-6 margin. The Black Bears then scored seven unanswered points in a three-minute span. At the 12-minute mark, a pair of free throws by sophomore center Katie Tausanovitch sparked an 8-0 run for the College.

p. Although Maine managed to temporarily regain control, another set of free-throws and a lay-up by James gave the Tribe a 19-16 lead with 8:55 remaining. This was not enough to keep the Black Bears at bay, however, as they responded with an uncontested nine-point run, taking a 27-21 lead over the Tribe. Although freshman guard Robyn Barton drained a three-pointer in the final minute of the first, the College faced a 34-27 deficit going into the locker room.

p. The Black Bears dominated the second half from the start, scoring five points early and forcing a Tribe time-out. Kell cut the lead to 39-30 with a three-pointer at the 17-minute mark, but the College could not capitalize thereafter.

p. Maine proceeded to make a 15-2 run, leaving the Tribe to trail 56-32 with 8:57 left on the clock. Despite baskets by a variety of players, the College could not tally enough points to significantly strip away Maine’s lead.

p. Despite the loss, the College did shoot an outstanding 84.2 percent from the free-throw line, as well as out-rebound its opponent 42-34.

p. The Tribe is scheduled to play at home against the University of North Texas Sunday at 2 p.m. in Kaplan Arena.

In football, 1,000 rushing yards is a lot. The number is widely seen as the benchmark for a successful season by a ball carrier. But when you stop to think about the many miles senior running back Elijah Brooks (who is currently just 88 yards shy of reaching 1,000 for the season) has logged throughout his athletic career, 1,000 yards begins to pale in comparison.

p. In just three years with the Tribe, Brooks has established himself as one of the most accomplished running backs to ever play for the College. Going into tomorrow’s season finale against the University of Richmond, Brooks sits in seventh place on the Tribe’s career rushing yards list with 2,517 yards, and if he gains just 29 more he will move into fifth place all-time. These numbers still don’t come close, however, to showing the real distance Brooks has covered throughout his career.

p. Brooks began playing football in the second grade, when he played on a 70-lb. team for his Boys and Girls Club.

p. “My dad, he’s a sports fanatic,” Brooks said of how he first got into football (his father played football for Morgan State University). “He didn’t push me towards football, my mother and father just put me in all sports, whether it be basketball, football, baseball, and they just allowed me to decide.”

p. Brooks went on to attend DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md. He starred as a two-way football player, playing running back on offense and outside linebacker on defense (Brooks says that he still has “the mentality of a defensive player”). He also played guard for the basketball team. He found himself in good company in both sports. Preceding him at the tailback position was Brian Westbrook, who now is the starting running back for the Philadelphia Eagles. His former DeMatha teammate Quinn Ojinnaka is now an offensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons. On the basketball team, he played for legendary coach Morgan Wooten, the winningest coach in the history of high school basketball, and was preceded by Keith Bogans, who now plays shooting guard for the Orlando Magic.

p. “It was a great experience at DeMatha,” said Brooks. “Winning tradition, always competing on a high level in the area and in tournaments [for the basketball team] and traveling and getting exposure. I played with a lot of great players at DeMatha and played against a lot of great players at DeMatha.”

p. Brooks’ run as a basketball player ended with high school (as he only grew to be 5’9’’), but he was able to earn a spot on the Kent State University football team. Brooks attended Kent State for his first year and his redshirt freshman season, but then decided to transfer. The Brooks family had several connections to the College, including a family friend, Robert Green, who used to play Tribe football, and Brooks decided to give the school a closer look.
“We got in contact with [Head] Coach [Jimmye] Laycock and he liked what he saw as far as game film from Kent State, and he gave me the opportunity to play here,” Brooks said. “So I’m greatly appreciative for that.”

p. Brooks began his Tribe career with the 2004 season and was an integral part of a team that advanced all the way to the Division I-AA semifinals before falling to James Madison University 48-34.

p. “I will always hold on to those memories of 2004 during that playoff run, probably [my] most exciting time ever playing sports,” Brooks said. “I never thought that type of excitement could have come to a small school like William and Mary.”

p. That level of excitement has not been seen for the Tribe this season, however, as the team has struggled to a 3-7 record.

p. “It’s been a rough season,” Brooks said. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. Many of us had high expectations going into the year. With the potential and talent we have on the team, nobody thought we would be 3-7 right now.”

p. Despite the tough season, Coach Laycock has remained impressed with Brooks’ performance.

p. “As we recognize players of the week each week, it’s almost a joke because he could basically retire the trophy if he wanted to, because he has been so consistent and so good every week,” Laycock said.

p. As for that elusive 1,000-yard rushing mark, Brooks says that reaching it would mean a lot to him as well as his teammates.

p. “With everything that’s gone wrong this season, to get 1,000 yards would mean a lot to not only myself but the offensive line,” Brooks said. “We struggled the whole year with criticism and that’ll be a landmark that just showed that we continued working and continued fighting.”

p. Off the field, Brooks says he spends a lot of time with many of the guys he shares a position with on the field — fellow running backs Tony Viola, DeBrian Holmes and Delmus Coley. Running backs coach Steven Jerry says that the influence Brooks has over the other backs is clear.

p. “Everybody looks up to him,” Jerry said. “When he’s not around, you see a difference … the other kids slip up a little bit.”
While free time is certainly hard to come by during the football season, Brooks says when he does get a spare moment he likes to play video games, particularly Madden, which he says causes people to get on him about never getting away from football. However, he also likes playing a game that is about as far from the gridiron as you can get.

p. “I enjoy playing Monopoly. We always play Monopoly whenever we get a chance,” Brooks said. “I like to do a lot of things; it’s just that I don’t have much time, but after this week I’ll probably have a lot more time to do things I want to do.”

p. Which brings us to tomorrow’s game, the final one of his career. While Brooks says that the fact that his career will soon be over hasn’t really hit him yet, he knows that it will once the time comes.

p. “Walking out there for the last time will be something special,” Brooks said. “I hope we can end on a good note.”

p. Once the season is over, Brooks will have more time to focus on academics. A kinesiology major, he will graduate in May.

p. Brooks said that adjusting to the College’s academic intensity was very difficult for him at first, as he soon found that the study habits he used at Kent State were not going to cut it at the College, saying that he had to “learn the hard way” during his first semester here.

p. “When it was all done, I said ‘it can’t get any worse than this, if I can make it through [the first semester] then I’ll be okay,’” Brooks said.

p. After graduation, Brooks has plans to attend graduate school to become a physical therapist, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up football yet.

p. “Oh yeah,” Brooks said when asked if he will attempt to continue to play football. “I’m definitely going to give it a shot.”

p. When Brooks leaves the field for the last time tomorrow, and again when he leaves at graduation, he will be leaving behind more than just his name in the record books.

p. “He’s a great guy,” senior center Cody Morris said. “He’s one of those guys you want to sit down and have a conversation with … I couldn’t say enough about him, he’s a great guy.”

p. “I will remember Elijah Brooks as a great competitor and a great young man,” Jerry said. “He may not have everything Division I and the NFL want … but when you look at his heart and competitiveness … I’ll take him all day and every day.”

p. While Zable Stadium is a long way from the field in Maryland where Brooks used to play games for his Boys and Girls Club team nearly 15 years ago, he still has memories of his days in the 70-lb. league.

p. “It’s surprising that being 22 I still can remember certain plays or certain events that happened way back when I was playing in the Boys and Girls Club,” Brooks said. “It seems like such a long time ago, but at the same time it seems like it just happened yesterday.”