__Harris’ first career goal pushes College over the top in tight contest__

Jeremy Harris notched the first goal of his NCAA career and the Tribe captured the season opener in a 1-0 victory over the Elon University Phoenix Saturday night. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, sophomore midfielder Jeremy Harris scored what proved to be the game winner early in the second half.

p. In the 55th minute of the match, senior midfielder and offensive catalyst Doug Ernst cut through the Elon defense near the left end line and chipped a beautiful ball across the box to a wide-open Harris. Harris took one settling touch and fired a rocket into the top of the net, prompting a deafening roar from an enthusiastic crowd at Albert-Daly field.

p. Throughout the first half, Head Coach Chris Norris implemented what looked like a 4-5-1 formation. The Tribe midfielders continually fed long balls to alternating forwards in an obvious attempt to utilize the size of the 6’0” junior Brock Jones and the 6’6” junior Nathan Belcher. Such an aggressive and somewhat impatient approach resulted in numerous turnovers and the inability to sustain possession of the ball for prolonged attacks.

p. At the outset of the second half, however, Coach Norris made the adjustment to a 4-3-3 formation, which featured Jones, Harris and sophomore Price Thomas up top. The new formation allowed the Tribe offense to spread the field, play balls to open space and stretch the Phoenix defense.

p. Integral to the success of the formation was the play of outside midfielder Harris, who continually utilized his blazing speed by blowing past Elon defenders up the sideline.

p. “I thought the guys showed a lot of team spirit and unity tonight. Playing without our two leading scorers from last season, we knew that we needed a lot of people to step up in the goal-scoring department. We identified Jeremy (Harris) as one of those players, and he came through tonight,” said Coach Norris on tribeathletics.com.

p. Also standing out in Saturday’s match was midfielder Thomas, who showed smooth footwork and heady passing ability throughout the night. The Tribe will need similar efforts from Harris and Thomas to fuel a roster featuring 17 underclassmen.
Although the Tribe was able to hang on for the win, Elon had a number of opportunities to tie the match throughout the second half. Elon recorded nine corner kicks during the match, however, a stout defensive line consisting of senior Michael Yakovak, sophomore Roger Bothe, freshmen Nicholas Orozco and freshmen Micahel DiNuzzo managed to ward off numerous scoring threats.

p. The Phoenix’s best scoring opportunity came in the 15th minute of the second half when midfielder Justin Wyatt broke through the Tribe backfield and ripped a shot on Tribe goalkeeper senior Brennan Wergley. Wergley, however, made a brilliant save, reaching his foot out to deflect the ball off the post. The 1-0 shutout was the sixth of Wergley’s career.

p. The Tribe hopes to carry momentum from their 1-0 victory into a grueling five game road trip, during which they will face Penn State University, Ohio State University, Temple Univesity, Dartmouth University, and University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

__Tribe takes two of three, notching wins against ECU and So. Illinois__

In a five-game match, the College defeated the Southern Illinois University Salukis Saturday 3-2 (23-30, 30-26, 24-30, 30-26, 15-8) and clinched second-place at the Tribe Classic. Coming off the heels of a 3-1 (29-31, 30-25, 31-29, 30-14) afternoon loss to eventual champion Kent State University, the Tribe rebounded against the Salukis as sophomore Jillian Brown and freshman Cassie Crumal led the way en route to All-Tournament Team honors.

p. Four College women recorded double-digit kills against Southern Illinois with freshman Erin Skipper registering a team-high 14 kills. Juniors Abbi Owens and Molly Bohman and sophomore Bryana Carey totaled 13, 11 and 10 kills respectively. Tribe setter Crumal dished out 56 assists in addition to her nine digs and five kills.

p. The College found itself down early in its first two games against the Salukis. In game one, the Tribe could not rally from a 12-6 deficit. Game two started similarly as the College quickly fell behind 12-5, but after tying the Salukis at 17, the Tribe jumped ahead 23-18 on a 6-1 run and did not look back. After splitting the next two games, the College reversed its earlier fortunes and started the fifth game strong. A 4-1 Tribe lead grew to 11-6, and the Salukis had no answer.

p. In Saturday’s matinee match, the Tribe won the first game against Kent State only to see the Golden Flashes take the next three and the match. Leading 29-24 and with the third game seemingly in reach, the College stumbled and Kent State reeled off seven straight points to win the game and effectively demoralize the Tribe. The Golden Flashes dominated the fourth game 30-14 to close out the match. Sophomore Lindsey Pflugner knocked in 16 kills to lead the College’s offense.

p. The Tribe opened tournament play Friday night against East Carolina University and netted a 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-24) victory. Classmates Pflugner and Brown as well as Owens notched double-digit kills to spearhead the Tribe attack. On the defensive side of the net, freshman Ginny Bray denied the Pirates points with a team-high seven blocks.

p. The College makes a cross-country trip to visit the UC-Irvine Tournament this weekend and start a 10-game road trip, as the Tribe will not play again at Kaplan Arena until September 26. The Tribe will face Southern Mississippi at 5 p.m. Friday, UCLA at 11 a.m. Saturday and host UC-Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday.

__Receiver injured in fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 49-31 loss to Delaware__

Things were starting to come around for junior wide receiver D.J. McAulay Thursday night, but in one play everything came crashing down.

p. McAulay was nearing the end of his best game at the College, having already hauled in seven passes for 162 yards and one touchdown in a breakout offensive performance, when redshirt-freshman running back Courtland Marriner crashed into him as he was tackled during a routine running play mid-way through the fourth quarter. It appeared that McAulay sustained an injury to his knee on the play, and he did not return to the field during the remainder of the game.

p. “He sustained a knee injury Thursday night against Delaware and the MRI confirmed that it was a MCL,” Head Coach Jimmye Laycock said via conference call Monday. “It’s going to require surgery, so he’s going to be gone for the season.”

p. McAulay showed flashes of talent in his first two years for the Tribe, but playing as the featured receiver Thursday night proved to be the kick-start he had been looking for.

p. “It’s really a shame because D.J. had, I thought, his best game of his career,” Laycock said. “He really started coming into his own and playing well. We’re going to really miss him.”

p. McAulay emerged as junior quarterback Jake Phillips favorite target Thursday night, tallying the first 100-yard receiving game of his career to assist Phillips’ record-setting 433-yard passing explosion. Phillips targeted McAulay on a fourth and goal attempt for the Tribe in the second quarter, but the quarterback’s pass sailed just out of McAulay’s reach – one of several opportunities the College failed to capitalize on against Delaware.

p. The Tribe entered the season thin at the wide receiver position as senior Joe Nicholas was forced to miss the opener with a minor injury. Sophomore R.J. Archer, who spent the off-season at the quarterback position, made a spot start in the slot receiver position and preformed well, catching five passes for 58 yards while creating havoc in the middle of the field. Archer’s play allowed McAulay to draw less coverage and get open downfield more often, which contributed to his performance.

p. At this time Nicholas is still not listed on the Tribe’s two-deep roster for Saturday’s contest at Virginia Military Institute. In all likelihood, Nicholas will not play in the game.

p. “I don’t know if [Nicholas] will be back this week,” Laycock said. “We’re kind of taking it day by day. He has not practiced with us yet. He’s getting better.”

p. Junior wide receiver Elliot Mack, along with redshirt freshmen receivers Cameron Dohse and quarterback turned receiver Chase Hill, are expected to replace McAulay. Mack caught four passes for 53 yards against Delaware. Dohse saw action but did not record a reception.

p. The Tribe suffered hard luck with knee injuries last season as well, when junior linebacker Josh Rutter suffered a season-ending ACL injury against VMI last year. Rutter returned to the Tribe defense against Delaware and recorded 11 tackles in the game.

The Tribe kicks off the fall component of its 2007-2008 season next weekend when it hosts the 15th Annual W&M Invitational. The bulk of the College’s schedule begins in January when the dual match season gets underway. Nevertheless, the fall brings many important tournament opportunities for the Tribe including the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, the ITA East Region Championships and the ITA National Indoor Championships. With the conclusion of the fall season, the College will play 19 dual matches against 15 teams ranked in the top-75 of the ITA Final Poll and 13 teams who reached the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Early in the stretch of dual matches, the Tribe will participate in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship in February.

The Tribe’s 2007-2008 schedule is out and features a full serving of ranked opponents. In addition to a strong dual match slate, the College will hit the road for several tournaments — the first coming next weekend, Sept. 14 to 16, at the Virginia Invitational in Charlottesville. The Tribe hits two major fall tournaments in the ITA All-American Championships (Sept. 29-30) and the ITA Mideast Region Championships (Oct. 18-22). The College’s season begins in earnest with the start of dual matches next January.

__Tribe falls in two contests against top-10 competitors__

p. The Tribe dropped a pair of close matches this weekend against top-10 opponents University of Iowa and Duke University. In Monday’s contest with Iowa, the Hawkeyes struck first as Lindsey Duffy scored in the game’s sixth minute. Neither team would score again as Iowa preserved its advantage and took the match 1-0. Senior goalkeeper Gwen Hunter held back a barrage of Hawkeye shots and recorded 10 saves on the day. With the loss the College now stands at 2-2 on the season. The Tribe fell 3-0 against home-standing Duke Saturday as the Blue Devils outshot the College 15-2. Duke’s first goal came with six minutes remaining in the first half. Two second half insurance goals sealed the Tribe’s fate.

__Tribe opens with 2-0 loss to UNC-Greensboro; Kittleson scores twice in Sunday’s victory over N.C. State__

p. The 27th-ranked Tribe (1-1) started off their season this past weekend with two games Friday and Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. The Tribe lost their first contest 2-0 to University of North Carolina — Greensboro, but rallied Sunday to beat North Carolina State University 3-0.

p.Senior Emily Kittleson scored two goals for the Tribe in Sunday’s win and senior co-captain Mary MacKenzie Grier added the Tribe’s third goal. Junior keeper Meghan Walker totaled six saves in the shutout.

p. Twenty-five minutes into the game Kittelson connected on her first goal from 30 yards out, and Grier followed 41 seconds later with a goal of her own after settling junior Abbi Lauer’s free kick. Kittelson scored again early in the second half to record her first career multi-goal game.

p. In the College’s season opener, UNC-G ended the Tribe’s school-record unbeaten streak at 17 matches. The Spartans scored in the eighth minute and added another goal late in the second half to clinch the victory. UNC-G outshot the Tribe 9-6 and Spartan goalkeeper Katherine Ryan denied four shots to keep the College scoreless.

p. “That first game was disappointing,” Tribe Head Coach John Daly, last year’s CAA coach of the year and NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year, said. “We made mistakes on both ends of the field and had two defensive errors that deeply cost us. We should have beat them but failed to take advantage of our opportunities.
“We still wasted a lot of chances [Sunday against N.C. State] and could have easily scored five or six goals,” Daly said. “Emily had that great shot from 30 yards that gave their keeper no chance. It hurt us to not have [Danielle Collins] and hopefully we’ll get her back soon because she gives us another dimension.”

p. The Tribe coach also proudly affirmed the team’s goal of winning the CAA once more and earning an NCAA bid.

p. Collins, a member of the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team and a Preseason All-CAA selection, will probably not play in this weekend’s games due to a rolled ankle, but the team hopes to have her back on pitch the following week.

p. The Tribe is coming off last year’s impressive season in which they went 16-1-4 (10-0-1 in the CAA) and set a school record with their .857 winning percentage. In addition, they won the CAA regular season title, earned an NCAA tournament bid and finished 8th in the final RPI rankings. Although the Tribe graduated five seniors from last year’s team, they return eight starters.

p. The College will host two first-time opponents in this weekend’s Tribe Invitational. First up for the College is Oklahoma University Friday at 7 p.m., followed by the University of Maine Sunday at 3 p.m.