Sunday, Aug. 23, William and Mary men’s soccer (1-1, 0-0 CAA) defeated Radford (0-1, 0-0 Big South) 4-1 at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, Va.
The win marked the Tribe’s first of the season, following a 6-5 home loss to Longwood (1-0, 0-0 Big South) Thursday, Aug. 20.
William and Mary senior goalkeeper Diego Garciarena faced multiple tests in the first half, with Radford holding an 8-5 advantage in shots — including three on target.
The Highlanders opened with possession and hit the ground running. Just over five minutes in, Radford freshman forward Brice Hall drilled a shot to the right side of the net from the box, forcing Garciarena into his first intervention of the match.
The Highlanders continued applying pressure to Garciarena and the Tribe defense. After Hall tested his luck once more, Radford junior forward Owen Gaisford forced another Garciarena save in the 16th minute, sending the ball to the bottom center of the goal.
After withstanding the early pressure from the Highlanders, the Tribe finally broke through in the 26th minute. Sophomore defender Michael DiOrio floated a cross from the right side of the box, and freshman forward Brown Huffard headed the ball into the back of the net.
Now with a 1-0 advantage, William and Mary started picking up the pace with attempts from sophomore forward Alex Garrison and senior defender Evan Rabush.
However, the momentum did not last long. Just as the Tribe appeared poised to take a 1-0 lead into halftime, Radford junior midfielder Hugo Roman let the ball fly from far outside of the Tribe penalty area. While Garciarena attempted another save, the ball deflected off his hand into the back of the net with just 18 seconds remaining.
“It was a tough moment,” Tribe head coach Chris Norris said. “We thought we had sort of weathered their storm in the first half.”
Norris said the locker room conversation centered on keeping the mood positive — a shift that carried into the second half. Defensive adjustments and strong performances off the bench helped the home team regain control.
In the 52nd minute, Garrison pounced on a poor defensive header from the Highlanders, firing the ball into the back of the net to put the Tribe back on top.
Having helped the Tribe regain its advantage, Garrison went searching for yet another goal. Less than 15 minutes later, he dribbled past Radford junior defender Mauricio Jimenez, drilling the ball into the corner of the net.
With two goals, Garrison doubled his scoring total from last season.
“We wanted to find him an opportunity tonight, and he was able to carry that form from training over, which was really important,” Norris said.
Up two goals, the Tribe fired on all cylinders. In the 79th minute, freshman midfielder/forward Aidan Gatchell chipped the ball past Radford senior goalkeeper Ben Miller.
Gatchell closed the scoring with his first goal repping the Green and Gold, sealing the 4-1 victory.
“To get contributions from multiple players, to score nine goals in our first two games, it’s just so far ahead of where we were last year,” Norris said. “That part’s really encouraging.”
The Tribe will hit the road Thursday, Aug. 27, to face Virginia foe George Mason (0-1 A-10) at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va.
