When Head Coach Chris Norris reviewed the 2009 schedule and saw no home matches until the sixth opponent of the season, he knew a tough task lay in wait for his squad. When the College takes the pitch Wednesday at Albert-Daly Field for the first time this season, it will boast a 3-2 record after downing American 2-0 Saturday in Washington, D.C., in the last of its five-game away swing.

“I think it was valuable for us,” Norris said of the team’s opening schedule. “We knew we would have an experienced team … so the risk of playing on the road was lessened by that. Eventually you have to be able to go on the road if you want to succeed.”

The Tribe showcased strong play in the attacking third to turn in its most consistent effort of the year. Senior forward Andrew Hoxie and junior forward Alan Koger netted goals against the Eagles, and junior goalkeeper Andrew McAdams picked up his second shutout of the year.

Hoxie’s second goal of the year came off a set piece at the top of the box in the 26th minute. The senior wrapped the ball around American’s wall to the near post, similar to a shot Niagra midfielder Levi Tesch sliced to beat the Tribe a week earlier.

Despite being held scoreless over the first four matches, Koger resurrected his ability to out-jump charging keepers in the 52nd minute against American. He headed junior defender Jeremy Harris’s serve over the Eagles’s out-of-position goalkeeper Matt Makowski for his first goal of the year, conjuring images of last season’s NCAA tournament game against Winthrop.

To Norris, the goals were reassuring, but his team’s confidence in holding a relaxed rhythm showed progress since the beginning of the season.

“The big thing is trying to be more efficient when we get into the attacking half of the field,” Norris said. “Particularly with combination play and creating goal scoring opportunities. We have very talented and experienced players in those positions, but through the first four games we weren’t quite firing on all cylinders … I thought against American we showed much more rhythm and flow, in spurts. It wasn’t consistent throughout the game, but we showed the kind of attacking moves we were capable of.”

The Eagles took serious risks sending players forward to try to score against the Tribe late; but a combination of McAdams’s saves and a late block by sophomore midfielder Nick Abrigo kept American off the board, despite outshooting the College 18-10

McAdams also improved his streak of not allowing a first half goal, which now stands at eight games dating back to last season’s CAA Tournament.

The College will resume it’s season Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it takes on the Richmond Spiders at Albert-Daly field.

Relief was the operative word for Tribe Head Coach Jimmye Laycock following his squad’s 27-15 defeat of Norfolk State Saturday night. The no. 5 College had easily handled the Spartans on the road to improve its record to 3-0, while emerging from the opening, non-conference portion of its schedule relatively injury free.

Overall, not much more could have gone right for the Tribe in non-conference play. The squad began with a thorough 26-14 destruction of Virginia, then easily took care of business against a pair of overmatched, lower-conference programs. The College is off to its best start since 1998.

But now, it’s time to forget all that. It’s time for the real season to begin.

Starting Saturday against Delaware, the Tribe will embark on its most difficult CAA schedule in years. Four of the College’s remaining eight games will come against teams ranked in the top seven in the nation, punctuated by a climactic, final weekend matchup against no. 1 Richmond.

“It was tough last year, and it will be tough this year. There are a lot of good teams, and we jump into it with both feet,” Laycock said. “I’m happy to be pretty injury free, and I’m happy to be 3-0, too. But it’s going to be a challenge every week, and we’d better get ready.”

While the Tribe’s opening upset over U.Va. was a monumental win for the program, there is little doubt that an FCS playoff bid is what matters most behind the doors of the Laycock Center. To gain one of those 16 spots, the College will have to emerge from its conference schedule with a record of at least 8-3 overall, or 5-3 in CAA play.

It won’t be easy. A week after hosting a strong Delaware program, the Tribe travels to no. 2 Villanova in what will be the first nationally televised regular season game in CAA history. The College will then take on Northeastern in Boston, before no. 7 James Madison comes to Zable Stadium on homecoming. Games against no. 6 New Hampshire and the top-ranked Spiders also remain.

“The rest of the games are conference games, and its do or die,” senior quarterback R.J. Archer said. “We are playing every game like it’s the championship.”

Luckily for Archer, the Tribe is showing very few weaknesses on the eve of their CAA opener. The College has been dominant in the opening quarter, outscoring opponents 37-7 while racking up a definitive 31:14 to 13:46 advantage in ball possession.

A powerful ground game has averaged 175 yards per game, compared to a mere 79 by opponents. A potent defense pitched two straight second-half shutouts to start the season and allowed only 15 garbage time points late in the fourth quarter against Norfolk State.

Some issues do exist. Despite looking sharp Saturday, Archer is currently slowed by an injured ankle that called into question his availability against the Spartans. A young offensive line has failed to provide steady protection for the quarterback, while struggling to control the line of scrimmage for the ground game.

Although steady a year ago, senior kicker Brian Pate has struggled this season, connecting on 8 of 13 field goal attempts while going only 3 for 9 from beyond 30 yards. Those are crucial points that the College cannot afford to sacrifice against tough CAA opponents.

“We have developed an ability to play very well at times, but I still don’t think we’ve got the consistency that we’re going to need as we get into league play,” Laycock said.

While unquestionably one of the strongest programs in the FCS, nothing is guaranteed this year in a tough division, and the College will need to forget its early success to mount a strong CAA run.

Last season, the Tribe sat at 7-2, one win short of a playoff bid, entering their final two contests against then-no. 1 James Madison and eventual national champion Richmond. The squad lost both games and watched the postseason at home.

This year, they are determined not to do the same.

“I think I’d be hard pressed to tell some of our fans that [the win over U.Va.] doesn’t matter, but that’s our approach,” Laycock said. “We moved on immediately after the Virginia game to Central Connecticut, and our players have done a great job of concentrating on each game every week.”

Archer concurred.

“We need to take control of our own destiny,” he said.

William and Mary (6-2) should have George Mason pretty well scouted by now. On an unremarkable weekend, getting an extra chance to scout a CAA foe while picking up two wins is always a plus.
Although the team did not face the host Patriots, the Tribe took both matches it played in the George Mason Tournament over the weekend, defeating Cornell 1-0 Friday and besting Long Island 1-0 Sunday afternoon.

“You always take two wins on the road, both of them on a neutral rather than away sight,” Head Coach John Daly said. “We did not play well on Friday, but we managed to eke out the win. We played much better [Sunday] and probably should have scored earlier.”

Senior forward Krissy Vornadore scored the game winner Friday night against Cornell, playing a cross from freshman midfielder Katrina Smedley inside the right post for her first goal of the season. The Tribe outshot the Big Red 14-11 for the match but was unable to find the back of the net the rest of the night.

“Katrina Smedley was outstanding. She really controlled things in the middle of the field, and I thought she used the ball very well,” Daly said.

In its second match of the tournament, the Tribe had to wait until the 82nd minute for a goal, using a strike from senior forward Kellie Jenkins to put away Long Island.

A foul on the Blackbirds gave the Tribe a free kick outside the 18-yard box that junior defender Kaitlin O’Connor played to Jenkins who beat her defender and slotted the ball inside the right post for her third goal of the season.

“We probably should have scored earlier than we did which made it tense right until the end,” Daly said. “But when we did score, it was a very good goal.”

The George Mason Tournament was their last non-conference matchup and the Tribe begins conference play Thursday with a match at UNC-Wilmington. Issues remain for Daly and his staff, such as the Tribe’s lack of first-half offense.

The Tribe has not scored a first-half goal since Sept. 6 against Utah. Only four of their 12 total goals have come in the first half all season.

“It always helps when people score earlier. You can get a little more comfortable as a team and you tend to be a little more relaxed,” Daly said. “The longer a game goes without a goal, the more likely it is you are going to get more anxious and start snatching at chances.”

Another issue for the Tribe will be Mason. Although not allowed to face the Patriots until the start of the conference season, the College has seen Mason play four times now, twice in the Fairfield Inn and Suites Marriott Tribe Invitational and twice at the George Mason tournament.

The Patriots will present unique matchup problems for the Tribe when the two teams meet Oct. 23rd.

“They have a couple of dangerous players, and they’ve got that physical edge about them. We’ve got to figure out how we are going to deal with them,” Daly said. “We really cannot fight fire with fire. We really just have to stick to our guns and play our game and see if our game is going to be good enough.”

Volleyball: Tribe swept at SMU’s weekend tournament

The Tribe (7-6) dropped all three matches at the Southern Methodist Invitational. The College fell Friday against both Syracuse and Texas State, dropping the first match 3-1 and the second 3-0. Sophomore Lindsay Kresch recorded a double-double versus Syracuse, racking up 13 kills and 16 digs on the match. The College did not fare much better Sunday, falling to host Southern Methodist 3-1. The Tribe won the first set 25-15 before dropping the final three sets to the Mustangs.

Women’s golf: Sweet wins tourney, leads College to third place

Sophomore golfer Caroline Sweet took home co-invitational champion honors at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate last weekend, finishing the rain-shortened 18-hole tournament with a score of 69 (-3). With the win, Sweet became the first Tribe female golfer since 1981 to win back-to-back tournaments. Sweet’s single-round total ties her for the school record along with teammates senior Morgan Stepanek and sophomore Kristen Hamel. The Tribe finished tied for third with a team total of 288 (E).

Women’s tennis: Pop, Mesgarzadeh take doubles title at U.Va.

The doubles tandem of senior Carmen Pop and freshman Marlen Mesgarzadeh finished first in the Flight C Doubles Consolation at the U.Va. Fall Invitational Sunday. Pop and Mesgarzadeh won all three of their matches on the weekend, defeating the doubles team from UNC-Greensboro 8-4 in the final match. In the Flight A Singles Consolation, senior Ragini Acharya defeated South Carolina’s no. 114 Dijana Stojic 4-2 for the victory. Freshman Anik Cepeda and Mesgarzadeh also recorded straight-set wins.

Redshirt sophomore Camilla Hill made 10 stops in her second game as the Tribe’s starting goalkeeper, but it was not enough to prevent Miami (Ohio) (3-4) from edging the Tribe (3-4) 2-1 in overtime Saturday afternoon. The loss was the third straight for the College, which dropped below .500 for the first time since a season-opening defeat to Boston College.

“This was the first time after a loss this year that we didn’t come back out rejuvenated,” Head Coach Peel Hawthorne said. “We would’ve felt more lucky than good if we had won today.”

Despite Hill’s efforts, the goalkeeper was once again let down by her offense. The College struggled to generate chances, registering only one shot on goal in a sloppy first half for both teams.

The Tribe has only tallied one goal over its last 114 minutes of play. The team had not scored since a strike by senior captain Wesley Drew that occurred with seven minutes to play in the first half Thursday against Virginia.

“Our intensity since the first half of the Virginia game has been disappointing,” Hawthorne said.
Miami controlled the time of possession early in the second half and tallied five of its 16 penalty corners within the first ten minutes of the frame. Hill was forced to make several saves to keep the score even at zero.

The Tribe’s offense sparked briefly when the Redhawks’ Amanda Seeley was given a five-minute yellow card at 21:24.

Sophomore Leah Zamesnik responded by forcing a turnover and charging downfield toward the Miami net. Redhawk goalie Abbey Huck challenged the sophomore at the top of the crease and Zamesnik slid the ball to junior Jenna Cinalli. Cinalli dove across the crease to slot the ball home and give the Tribe an early 1-0 advantage.

But the Tribe’s momentum was quickly blunted. Miami’s Katie Brightwell tied the game on an unassisted goal at 11:44 of the second half on her team’s 14th penalty corner of the match.

The game proceeded to overtime, where another penalty corner doomed the Tribe.

Less than three minutes into the extra period, Brightwell struck again for her second goal of the match, off Miami’s 16th penalty corner.

Despite the close score, the Tribe was unhappy with their level of intensity throughout the match.

“We just don’t have consistency,” Zamesnik said. “We didn’t play well in the second half last game [versus Virginia], and we were dead at practice [Friday].”

The Tribe returns to the field Wednesday with the third game of a five-game home stand against Richmond.