Saturday, Sept. 5, William and Mary men’s soccer (2-2-1, 1-0-1 CAA) captured a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Coastal Athletic Association rival Charleston (2-1-1, 1-1-0 CAA) at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, Va.
The win marked the Tribe’s first against the Cougars since 2021 and broke a three-game losing streak against Sunday’s visitors.
Sunday’s win, however, was no surprise for Tribe head coach Chris Norris ’95.
“A good performance last weekend on the road at Elon and having a week to train, we felt good about today,” he said.
Moments before the planned 1 p.m. kickoff, the game was delayed due to weather, and the teams did not return to the field until 2:45 p.m.
The delay seemingly sapped some of the Tribe’s pre-game momentum, and Norris’ team came out of the gates rather flat.
Conversely, the delay seemed to have little impact on the Cougars, who started the game energetically and had the Tribe on the defensive early. The Cougars rallied off five shots to the Tribe’s one through the first 15 minutes.
Despite facing early pressure, the Tribe defense stayed compact and fended off the Cougars to keep the game at 0-0 after the first 15 minutes. Senior goalkeeper Diego Garciarena made an important save on Cougars senior forward Matt Lenert’s header, allowing the Tribe to move the ball out of its defensive half.
Tribe senior midfielder/forward Gabe Ruitenberg rallied off two shots during the Tribe’s first extended offensive possession, and while unable to truly test Charleston junior goalkeeper Marten Brink, the visiting team gave the Tribe much-needed momentum. The Tribe outshot the Cougars 6-2 for the remainder of the first half, which ended scoreless.
After a dormant first half for both sides, the Tribe turned the tide in the 48th minute. Freshman forward Brown Huffard brought the game to life with the Tribe’s first goal on a quick backside touch-in, assisted by a pass through the Cougar defense from freshman winger Sullivan Carter.
Huffard’s opener marked his third goal of the campaign, placing him at the top of the team’s points chart as a true freshman with seven (three goals, one assist). Thanks to his efforts, Huffard earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the third consecutive week.
14 minutes later, William and Mary found itself with a golden opportunity to double its advantage after Cougars junior defender Ben Baldwin conceded a penalty kick.
Tribe sophomore midfielder Beckham Harris converted the spot kick, his first collegiate goal.
With a valuable two-goal advantage, the Tribe played more conservatively for the remainder of the second half.
The Cougars went on the offensive again, taking seven more shots through the remainder of the game — Lenert fired off three, and junior defender Ryan Watson took two.
However, two yellow cards on the Cougars derailed any momentum the visitors attempted to generate.
Garciarena made two saves in goal for the Tribe in the final 12 minutes to seal the game, one in the bottom corner by Lenert and one centrally from junior midfielder/forward Stian Bendvold.
Garciarena’s second-half interventions also marked the Tribe’s first clean sheet of the season.
Ruitenberg tested his luck once more in the final minutes, seeing his shot fly out just barely over the top bar. Junior midfielder Thor Sigurjonsson also came close to scoring another for the Tribe, but Brink saved his shot.
The game marked some considerable milestones for the Tribe after a challenging previous season.
The win against the Cougars is William and Mary’s second of the season, equaling its win total from the entirety of last season.
The Tribe also surpassed its goal total from 2025, which now tallies to 13 on the season through five games after only scoring 12 through 16 games last year. Norris attributed this to the team turnover during the offseason.
“A lot of young guys have hit the ground running and are doing a really good job,” he said. “[It is] great to get some new blood in here, some guys that are hungry and some really good soccer players that have kind of raised our overall team soccer IQ.”
The Tribe continues CAA action Saturday, Sept. 12 against North Carolina Wilmington (3-0-1, 1-0 CAA) at UNCW Soccer Stadium in Wilmington, N.C.
