College of Charleston
William & Mary
Men?s Soccer Trounces William & Mary to Open CAA Play
9/27/2015 1:59:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – After scoring two goals in less than two minutes in the first half, the College of Charleston men's soccer team cruised to a 3-1 victory over William & Mary Saturday evening at Patriots Point.
“We defended very well, were organized, the players committed to our system, and the effort was tremendous,” said head coach Ralph Lundy. “We put away some great goals and put a lot of pressure on their keeper. William & Mary is an excellent team but when we get the commitment from our defenders like we did tonight combined with the scoring chances we finished, we will be a very tough team to beat this year.”
The Cougars (4-3-1, 1-0-0 CAA) earned their first Colonial Athletic Association victory since defeating Northeastern 1-0 back in November 2013. CofC tied a season-high of three goals tonight with all of them coming from a different player.
Junior forward Hamilton Carlin kicked off the scoring for The College in the 30th minute when a rebound landed right at his feet on the right side of the goal and put it away for his first goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, junior captain Nico Rittmeyer receieved a perfect pass from junior midfielder Nicolas Jeausseran and Rittmeyer finished the breakaway for his third goal of the season.
“It feels great to score the first goal for the team tonight,” said forward Hamilton Carlin. “I think that goal allowed us to open up a little bit and play more freely. I thought we attacked very well at times but we always have things we can improve on. We will take this momentum we gained tonight and use it on our road trip next week.”
The Cougars moved to more of a defensive approach in the second half giving William & Mary more scoring opportunities. Despite a 12-4 shot advantage in the second half, the Tribe couldn't get passed goalkeeper Kevin Shields who made seven saves tonight.
“The win was huge coming off of a tough trip to California last weekend,” said captain Nico Rittmeyer. “We didn't come out with the results we wanted out in California so we channeled everything we had into this win tonight for our home fans. We showed tonight we weren't one dimensional and can score in many different ways.”
In the 81st minute, CofC added an insurance goal when junior forward Adan Noel made his way into the box and after a series of moves he blasted his first goal of the season right past Mac Philips.
The Tribe would get on the board in 88th minute however, when the Cougars were called for a foul in the box awarding them a penalty kick. Antonio Bustamante for the Tribe just beat Shields on the penalty kick to make the score 3-1 with less than two minutes remaining.
The College will hit the road next week when they face off against UNCW on Wednesday, Sept. 30 before rounding out the trip with a match against Drexel on Saturday, Oct. 3.
