Boxscore
Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware men’s soccer team battled into overtime with No. 25 William & Mary, but fell, 3-2, in the 99th minute of Colonial Athletic Association action at Delaware Mini-Stadium on Saturday evening.

Delaware (5-9-0 overall, 2-4-0 CAA) got out to a 1-0 lead before William & Mary (9-4-0 overall, 4-2-0 CAA) tied the game and later went ahead, 2-1, early in the second half. The Hens knotted the game at two mid-way through the second to send the rainy, cold game into an extra period. Merely 1:26 from the second overtime, the Tribe found the back of the net to tally a 3-2 road-victory.

Junior Ben Rodkey (at right) was the first of five to score when he gathered a ball from freshman Greg Mallia and fired a shot to the top right of goal, past diving Tribe keeper, Andrew McAdams, at 23:59.

Though Delaware held the advantage for period of time, William & Mary answered with a Tribe goal in the 36th minute to tie the game. Ryan Snyder collected a deflected Delaware save made my freshman goalie, Brandon Paul, following a shot by Andrew Hoxie. Snyder was quick to lace the lose ball back at goal, past Paul, for the score.

William & Mary wasted little time following the halftime break before taking the lead for the first time in the contest. At 47:07, Andrew Hoxie gained control of teammate Roger Bothe’s shot that bounced off the left post and back into play for the put-back and the lead.

The teams exchanged a handful of shots prior to W&M notching three in a row, though a strong Hens’ defense, led by freshman Roberto Vernaschi, was able to hold off the nationally ranked power. Delaware capitalized on its very next opportunity in Tribe territory.

Senior Kyle Davis chipped a pass from the top of the box to junior Courtney Hewitt who was closing in on the left post. After a couple of taps, Hewitt rifled a shot across goal and past McAdams to again tie the game.

The teams fought through the lingering minutes of regulation in the middle third of play, before the buzzer rang and another 10 minutes was awarded to the clock.

The Tribe looked to have dominated the overtime minutes, before capitalizing on a quick play that earned William & Mary the sudden-victory CAA win.

In the 99th minute, Hoxie got the ball to Snyder who passed a flat ball left to Caleb Thomas. Thomas then notched a shot past Paul for the score that brought the Tribes’ bench swarming onto the field.

Paul tallied a game-high seven stops for the Hens and McAdams made two saves for W&M.

“This will be a difficult loss for us to swallow,” noted fourth-year Delaware head coach Ian Hennessy. “To have battled the number 25 team in the nation so well for so long, and then drop an overtime goal is very frustrating for our team. The lads continue to work hard and must be commended for their continued effort in trying to take this program to the next level. We are close, I feel, and I think we’ll get there -- the fashion in which we lost tonight is a tough one.

“Darren Christie will hopefully return by Wednesday. We now must focus forward to the last stretch of conference play,” concluded Hennessy.

Delaware will return to CAA action on Wednesday, Oct. 21 when it travels to CAA opponent, Towson, for a 3 p.m. match.

AGATE:

William & Mary........1...1...1.....3
Delaware.................1...1...0.....2

Scoring Summary: First Half: UD - Ben Rodkey (Greg Mallia) - 23:59, W&M - Ryan Snyder (Andrew Hoxie) - 36:09; Second Half: W&M - Andrew Hoxie (Roger Bothe) - 47:07, UD - Courtney Hewitt (Kyle Davis) - 73:29; First Overtime: W&M - Caleb Thomas (Ryan Snyder, Andrew Hoxie) - 98:34; Shots: UD - 8, W&M - 20; Corner Kicks: UD - 3, W&M - 6; Saves: UD - 7 (Brandon Paul, 7), W&M - 2 (Andrew McAdams, 2); Fouls: UD - 11, W&M 12; Offsides: UD - 0, W&M - 3.