Former William and Mary standout soccer forward Andrew Hoxie ’09 is going on a road trip. The San Jose Earthquakes announced Hoxie’s name in the third round of the 2010 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft Thursday afternoon. The 37th overall selection’s next task is to make the nearly 3,000 mile drive from Williamsburg to San Jose, Calf. in time for the first squad workout Jan. 23.

Held in the Philadelphia Convention Center in front of the media, coaches and fans, the draft did not disappoint Hoxie.

“The draft was in a huge room and when someone gets picked the fans go crazy,” Hoxie said. “[Once selected, you] walk up and give a speech … I was just happy to be drafted. I had no idea; I could have gone first round, I could have gone fourth round as coaches are now looking for an individual player to fit certain positions.”

Hoxie expects to see immediate playing time in San Jose. The Earthquakes finished second-to-last in MLS last season and, outside of forward Ryan Johnson, had little punch at the striker position.

“I am going to have to prove myself,” Hoxie said. “The first game is not until the end of March, so we have a long preseason ahead of us. I am hoping to start and play … we’ll see how it goes.”

The Enid, Okla. native became the seventh Tribe player drafted into MLS and the first since 2004. Hoxie was the 10th forward selected, and will seek to join defender Wade Barret ’98 as the only Tribe players on an MLS roster this spring.

After graduating in December, Hoxie set his sights on the invite-only Adidas MLS Player Combine that took place in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 8-12.

At the combine he was placed on Team Condivo, named after the Adidas line. Four teams are formed by the 62 invites and each participated in matches against the other. Team Condivo went 3-0 as Hoxie led all scorers notching two goals, including the opening goal of the combine, bending a ball around a defender in an one-on-one opportunity.

“Guys from schools like William and Mary, it is hard because you don’t get a lot of recognition,” Hoxie said. “There were a lot of coaches that had never heard of me or seen me play. It was nice to get my name out there early.”

Hoxie was satisfied with his performance at the combine.

“I think I played well, I did what I wanted to do,” he said. “I have been running and lifting, but I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to play soccer because of the weather.”

Hoxie played 72 games for the College, registering 35 goals while capping his career being named to multiple All-American teams and as the 2009 CAA Player of the Year.

Once in San Jose, he will workout with the Earthquakes for a few weeks before heading south to Arizona for a training session. The team will then travel to England for preseason action before returning to San Jose for their home opener against defending MLS Champion Real Salt Lake March 27.

Until then, he’ll just enjoy the ride.

Notes: Hoxie tallied 10 goals and 12 assists this past season on his way to being named the CAA Player of the Year and earning a place on the Hermann Trophy watch list, given to the nation’s top collegiate soccer player.

When an opponent shoots a measly 24 percent from the floor, there is no excuse for a loss. Not to worry, William and Mary needed no excuses Saturday as the Tribe (12-3, 4-1 CAA) demolished Drexel (8-9, 3-2 CAA) 73-48 in Philadelphia, Pa. to win its 12th game in 13 opportunities.

The visiting College silenced the Daskalakis Athletic Center crowd and grew a four-point halftime edge to as large as 28 points in the second half, and for the first time all year, emerged victorious in a conference game by more than one point.

“It is a shock to be in that position tonight,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said of his team’s blowout win. “It is a great feeling to be able to sit there in the last minute or two.”

The College outscored the Dragons 45-24 in the second half courtesy of better than 65 percent shooting from the floor.

“They are a team that needs to score in transition,” Shaver said of Drexel. “Our offense was so good tonight that they did not get too many opportunities.”

The undersized Dragons were held to its second lowest point total of the season in part due to a failure to adjust to the Tribe’s confusing match-up zone defense, yet mainly due to atrocious shooting. Drexel’s shooting managed only one basket over a 17-minute period spanning the end of the first half through the first five minutes of the second half.

“I could not be more impressed with what we are doing to come in here and defeat Drexel the way we did, it is amazing,” Shaver said. “We played as good a second half as we could.”

Despite 13 turnovers, Shaver pointed to precise execution on offense and defense, making the difference against Drexel.

The duo of senior guard David Schneider and sophomore forward Quinn McDowell led the execution for the College offensively with 20 and 19 points, respectively, on a combined 15 of 24 shooting. Yet, the unheralded play of senior center Steve Hess’ career-high 16 points, paved the way for the Tribe.

Hess provided an inside presence when Drexel pushed its defense to the perimeter to shut down the Tribe’s potent outside attack. Much like VCU, Drexel focused almost entirely on stopping the Tribe’s often talked about long-range threat. Hess asserted himself inside supplying an outlet that Drexel seemingly ignored.

“The biggest thing [for success] is team chemistry, especially in this league,” McDowell said. “Any night one guy can step up and tonight it was Steve.”

After a streaky shooting performance over the first 20 minutes, nothing could go wrong for the College in the second frame. After entering halftime with a slight 28-24 lead, the Tribe opened the half on a 15-4 run to put the game away with 13 minutes remaining.

Drexel sliced the lead to 11 with 8:11 remaining, but could get no closer as the Tribe bulged its margin to as many as 28 in the final minute.

“Against Delaware and Wilmington, we let the lead slip away,” Shaver said. “When we got up, we told the guys, ‘Great teams are great right now.’” I like the fact that we stayed aggressive [down the stretch].”

Schneider’s nine rebounds helped the Tribe out-rebound the Dragons 39-36. Each team connected on five three-pointers, even as the Dragons attempted ten more than the Tribe from long range.

The margin of victory was the second largest for the College this season.

The Tribe returns to action Jan. 14 against James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena.

Tribe 73, Drexel 48

The Flat Hat will be live courtside from the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa. starting at 4 p.m. today. The contest between the Tribe (11-3, 3-1 CAA) and the Dragons (8-8, 3-1 CAA) pits the top two teams in the CAA against each other. The match wraps up a stretch of five road games in six contests for the Tribe. A win over the Dragons would give the College its 12th win in 13 opportunities.

Drexel enters the contest with the third-ranked scoring defense in the CAA giving up only 63.9 points per game. Yet the Dragons boast the second-to-last offense averaging a measly 63.4 points per contest. The Tribe enters averaging 73.8 points on the offensive end (second in the CAA), while allowing 67.6 points (eighth in the CAA).

The Dragons have won two games in a row, beating Georgia State 72-57 and VCU 75-72. Watch for guards Jamie Harris (15.8 ppg ) and Gerald Colds (10.0 ppg) to lead the way offensively for the Dragons, while forward Samme Givens (8.6 ppg, 7.2 rebounds per game, 1.5 steals per game) holds down the defensive end.

Check back at 4 p.m. for the start of the live blog and feel free to comment below.

It had all slipped away – the remarkable 10-2 start, first place in the CAA, the top-20 RPI ranking, not to mention the ample talk of a storybook run to the College’s first NCAA tournament bid. William and Mary trailed Delaware by seven points with 32 seconds remaining in overtime of a crucial conference matchup, and was about to drop its second consecutive game to a CAA bottom-feeder.

In college basketball that’s an insurmountable margin, and a raucous crowd at the Bob Carpenter Center was on its feet celebrating yet another win over a Tribe team that hadn’t won there in 27 years.

“The game was over,” senior guard David Schneider said.

Then, suddenly, it wasn’t.

A remarkable closing sequence of events stunned everyone in attendance Wednesday night, delivering the Tribe (11-3, 3-1 CAA) to a 74-73 overtime victory over Delaware (5-10, 1-3 CAA) in what will go down as one of the most incredible wins in the history of the school.

“It’s remarkable,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “You know it can happen, it’s just something you’ve got to make happen.”

In overtime, the Tribe had lost control of a game that they led nearly the entire way. With those fateful 32 seconds remaining, Delaware guard Jawan Carter sank two free throws to give the Blue Hens a 72-65 lead.

Then it all started for the College. Schneider drove the Tribe down the floor and missed a three-pointer, but senior guard Sean McCurdy was able to grab the rebound. McCurdy found sophomore forward JohnMark Ludwick in the corner, who drilled a three-pointer that looked like it would be too little, much too late.

Shaver called a timeout to focus his team. Then, on the Delaware inbounds pass, Schneider struck. The senior cut through the air to tip the ball to McCurdy, who passed back to Schneider beyond the three-point arc. Schneider didn’t hesitate, and drilled a three to bring the Tribe to within a point and send the College’s bench airborne with renewed hope.

With 13 seconds remaining, the Tribe was forced to foul on the inbounds pass, sending Delaware guard Alphonso Dawkins to the free throw line for two shots. He hit one, giving the College 12 seconds to erase a two-point deficit.

Schneider only needed 9.2. Driving to his right just beyond the three-point line, he turned to find his defender had fallen and didn’t hesitate, launching a shot that swished the back of the net with 2.8 seconds left in the game and the Tribe now up 74-73.

“I’ve always dreamed of situations like that. I knew this was a time to score,” he said. “The last shot, I saw [the defender] fall down, and luckily it went in.”

Delaware tossed up one final attempt just before the final buzzer, and when it clanged harmlessly off the front iron the College was left to wildly celebrate an improbable victory in front of their bench.

“It’s huge,” Shaver said. “I think for this team to respond to a disappointing loss at home and get a win here for the first time since 1983 is a great tribute to our players. It’s an incredible thing.”

The victory capped an erratic evening for the College, one that saw them lead by as much as 10 points before trailing by seven deep in overtime. After Delaware jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage, the Tribe took an 11-9 lead with 13:40 remaining in the first half and stayed ahead for the next 25 minutes of play.

The College shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, maintaining a 33-27 lead at the halftime break.

That margin quickly swelled to nine points in the first few minutes of the second half, but Delaware began to chip away. With forwards senior Danny Sumner and sophomore Quinn McDowell having gone cold offensively, finishing with an uncustomary six and eight points respectably, the Tribe struggled to find consistent scoring and rebounding.

The Blue Hens racked up a 40-33 advantage on the boards, and used second-chance points to claw back into the game and eventually send it to overtime.

It was the play of Schneider, who tallied 26 points, four rebounds and four assists, that kept the College from falling behind. The senior also became the leading three-point shooter in Tribe history with a first half basket.

“He’s just as tough a competitor as I’ve ever coached,” Shaver said. “He scored a lot tonight, but his greatest contribution is his defense and the other stuff he does for our ballclub.”

With the game tied at 59-apiece after regulation, the game progressed to the decisive overtime period, with Schneider’s heroics supplying the College with a remarkable win.

“This was definitely the craziest win, I couldn’t believe we pulled it out,” junior center Marcus Kitts said. “It’s a huge win for our confidence and our team. This really could have taken the wind out of our sails, but we were able to pull it out.”

The Flat Hat is live courtside at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del. with updates, analysis, news and more as the College (10-3, 2-1 CAA) takes on the Blue Hens.

Chime in below with comments or questions in addition to the live commentary.

In the College’s 104 years of varsity basketball competition, few decades have ended quite like this. A span which saw William and Mary reach its first CAA tournament final in 2007 culminated with the squad in a position it has not reached in at least 30 years — owners of a 9-2 record, in first place of a tough CAA and receiving votes in the national polls.

Wednesday night’s 83-77 dismantling of Maryland (8-4) proved a fitting ending to the 2000’s, much as it signaled the beginning of something possibly far greater. For the second time this season, the College comfortably downed an ACC opponent on the road, and for the fourth time defeated a program that had qualified for the NCAA tournament a year ago. It took all of 40 minutes of play for the Tribe to announce that its nine-game winning streak is anything but a fluke. In short, the win proved that Head Coach Tony Shaver has finally fielded a squad that is as good as any in the CAA and can legitimately compete for the school’s first-ever NCAA bid.

“It’s a good feeling,” Shaver said. “It gives me a lot of confidence about [the players] I’m bringing in to the gym right now. I couldn’t be happier, couldn’t be prouder, couldn’t be more impressed with what our guys are doing.”

Much like its victory at Wake Forest roughly one month before, the contest saw the Tribe open a margin late in the first half that would not truly be tested. A layup from junior center Marcus Kitts with 4:44 remaining in the opening period gave the College a 26-25 lead, and two more baskets followed to open up a six-point advantage. Maryland would never pull within that margin.

“Every time Maryland made a run or got things going, our guys responded,” Shaver said. “They were just an extremely tough and composed bunch today.”

Leading that charge was sophomore forward Quinn McDowell, who poured in clutch bucket after clutch bucket, repeatedly stamping out any momentum the frustrated Terps hoped to build. McDowell finished with a game-high 28 points on 8 of 14 shooting, while adding four rebounds. He was joined by his teammate, senior forward Danny Sumner, who got the College going with three early treys from the corner.

“They came out very aggressive, trying to press us, and I got some wide open looks,” Sumner said. “After I hit the first one, I got it going. The team fed off that.”

While Sumner and McDowell built the early advantage, it was the Tribe’s depth and balance that maintained it. The squad saw six players tally at least five points, while Shaver employed a rotation that went 10-deep.

“Whenever people start to key on one or two guys, we have other guys who are able to step up,” McDowell said. “That’s one of the reasons why we’re so good.”

That depth also allowed the College to maintain withering defensive pressure, often frustrating the larger Maryland players. Mercurial guard Greivis Vasquez posted 26 points, but seven of those came in the final two minutes with the Terrapins furiously trying to eliminate a double-digit deficit. Senior guard David Schneider grabbed two steals and harried the Maryland guards all evening, while helping to force the Terrapins into 4 for 25 shooting from three point range.

Kitts racked up five rebounds and two blocks inside, while fellow center, sophomore Steven Hess, added two more boards.

“They battled hard inside,” Shaver said. “They’re a little smaller than [the Maryland forwards], but they competed so hard.”

With the Tribe big men holding strong inside, and Maryland unable to connect from beyond the arc, the College was able to expand upon a nine-point halftime lead, going up by as much as 16 points with 4:58 to play. From there, all that was left was to withstand one last Terrapin rally and celebrate for the second time on an ACC court.

“This is very big, it’s good to knock off another ACC team,” Sumner said. “In the past we really haven’t done well in the non-conference [schedule], and now we have to carry it over [to CAA play]. There are a lot of great teams in the CAA as well, and you can’t slip up against any team. You’ve got to keep it going and take each game one at a time.”

Wednesday’s contest kicked off a stretch which will see the College play four games in eight days, with road matchups against Hofstra and Delaware sandwiching a home date with UNC-Wilmington. The quick turnaround gives the Tribe no time to savor its accomplishment, or reflect on the latest addition to its growing resumé.

“I’m tired right now, but looking forward to it,” Shaver said. “This is probably the most challenging part of our season now coming up. We’ve been through a tough stretch, but to play three of our next four conference games on the road is a very important part of the season for us. It’s tough to win on the road in this league, but our guys will believe they can do it right now. We’ve just got to have a great practice tomorrow, and get ready to play Hofstra on Saturday.”

The Flat Hat is live courtside at the Comcast Center in College Park with updates, analysis, news and more as the College (8-2, 1-0 CAA) takes on the Terrapins (8-3, 0-0 ACC).

Chime in below with comments or questions in addition to the live commentary.