With under two weeks remaining in its regular season campaign, William and Mary men’s soccer is in the midst of a razor-tight race to secure a spot in the Coastal Athletic Association tournament.
The Tribe’s postseason push comes on the heels of a 4-0 win against Navy (4-6-4, 2-3-1 Patriot) Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Martin Family Stadium in Williamsburg, Va., followed by a 1-1 draw against Charleston (7-3-4, 2-2-3 CAA) Saturday, Oct. 17 at Ralph Lundy Field in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Fresh off a dominant 4-0 win against Howard (3-10-1, 1-3-1 Northeast) Thursday, Oct. 8, the Tribe welcomed Navy for its penultimate nonconference match of the season.
William and Mary took early control, dictating play deep inside the Midshipmen’s half of the field. Senior defender Evan Rabush proved pivotal in the opening stages, delivering several precise cross-field passes to set up the Tribe wingers in goal-scoring positions.
Sophomore midfielder Beckham Harris frequently found space in the attack. In the 8th minute, Navy senior goalkeeper Dylan Carmody parried Harris’ attack before he slipped a clear-cut opportunity to freshman forward Brown Huffard.
After weathering the Tribe’s fast start to the match, the visitors mounted a double-barreled threat in the 23rd minute. Junior midfielder Duncan Sullivan, Navy’s leading scorer, unloaded two shots from deep within the penalty area that demanded emergency blocks from the Tribe’s backline, including sophomore defender Damen Burney.
“I was disappointed with conceding those two chances,” head coach Chris Norris ’95 said. “When they got into our final third, they were definitely dangerous.”
Just two minutes after nearly surrendering the opening goal, William and Mary broke through. Rabush fired from a distance, forcing a save from Carmody. However, the Navy goalkeeper failed to clear the rebound, allowing an onrushing Huffard to bury the ball from close range.
“He has a striker’s mentality,” said Norris of Huffard. “He is kind of sniffing around areas where the ball might fall.”
Although the remaining 20 minutes of the first half yielded no further scoring, the Tribe firmly established its dominance, holding 61% possession and generating four shots on goal to Navy’s one.
Despite its best defensive efforts before halftime, Navy failed to keep the floodgates closed in the second half.
William and Mary doubled its lead in the 57th minute off a corner kick, allowing Harris to poke the ball in nearly standing on the goal line. Five minutes later, senior midfielder/forward Gabe Ruitenberg found Huffard unmarked in the Midshipmen box, with the latter heading the ball past Carmody to extend the Tribe’s lead to 3-0.
“Heading is a little bit of a lost art, and for him to score that goal was exceptional,” Norris said.
Huffard’s brace Tuesday night boosted his team-leading mark for the 2026 campaign to six goals.
With the game firmly in hand, the Tribe attack reached the four-goal mark for the second consecutive match. Sophomore forward Alex Garrison evaded one Navy defender before shooting past an outstretched Carmody in goal.
With his team gearing up for a three-game road swing, Norris expressed confidence in his squad’s recent form.
“We have been pretty efficient lately when it comes to clean sheets and scoring goals,” he said.
The Tribe’s matchup against Charleston was the second this season between the two conference foes, with the Tribe securing a 2-0 home victory on the back of a strong second-half performance.
Saturday afternoon, the Cougars came out firing on all cylinders, earning the first corner kick of the game less than two minutes into play. The Tribe struggled early against Charleston’s high press, but an intercepted pass quickly flipped the field, springing Huffard into a one-on-one breakaway against Cougars junior goalkeeper Marten Brink.
While Charleston dictated tempo for much of the opening period, the Tribe gradually found its attacking rhythm. In the 24th minute, Charleston broke the deadlock when graduate student midfielder Arnau Ollé launched a powerful strike into the top-left corner from outside the box. The Tribe quickly rebounded, completing passes and building a strong push to the Cougars’ end. This yielded strong scoring chances without the ability to find the back of the net.
In the 33rd minute, however, Huffard one-touched a cross from Harris. Huffard’s goal was his seventh of the season, marking a team high both in total and shot accuracy at 50%.
After the break, the Tribe attack came out strong and pushed Charleston deeper into its own defensive half. However, the away team failed to find the back of the net, keeping the score at 1-1.
William and Mary will return to action Saturday, Oct. 24 against Campbell (0-11-2, 0-6 CAA) at Eakes Athletic Complex in Buies Creek, N.C.
