Oct. 7, 2008
NORFOLK, VA - The Old Dominion University (5-3-1, 2-0) soccer Monarchs return to action Wednesday night as they host the Tribe of William & Mary (5-2-2, 1-2) at 7:00 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex. In the NSCAA/adidas Regional Rankings, the Tribe currently sits at #3, while the Monarchs have risen to #6. Three of the top four scorers in the CAA will be in action.
ODU has now won three straight and five of their last six games overall. The all-time series is tied 18-18-8, including a thrilling 1-0 Monarch victory in two overtime periods last year in Williamsburg. ODU has won five straight against the Tribe to pull the all-time series even. The last victory in the series for William & Mary was a 2-0 decision in 2002.
The Monarchs are led by sophomore forward T.J. Beaulieu (Apex, NC) with a CAA second best 12 points on four goals and four assists this season. Beaulieu currently ranks fourth in the CAA in assists, and is tied for second in the CAA with teammate Steffen Rabben (Fagernes, Valdres, Norway) with four goals. Freshman keeper Michael Roura (Middletown, NJ) has pitched back-to-back shutouts for the Monarchs to open conference play. Senior forward Trevor Banks (Madison, WI) is tied for eighth in the CAA with three goals.
Last Saturday, the Monarchs defeated UNC Wilmington 1-0 on the road to improve to 2-0 in CAA play. Bobby Foglesong's (Fredericksburg, VA) goal with 19 minutes left in the match was the difference for the Monarchs. It was Foglesong's first goal of the season. Michael Roura was named CAA Rookie of the Week for his work against the Seahawks.
William & Mary is coming off a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory at George Mason on Saturday to earn their first CAA victory of the season and snap a two game losing streak. Sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Baako leads the Tribe with 11 points including four goals and three assists. He is tied for second in the CAA with four goals. Junior midfielder Price Thomas has also contributed 8 points for William & Mary with two assists and three goals, including the game winner at George Mason. He is tied for eighth in the CAA in goals scored. Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew McAdams has recorded 33 saves in 9 games for W&M.
ODU is back on the field Saturday, October 11th as they host Towson at 7:00 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex.