Nationally ranked for the first time since 2012, no. 18 William and Mary dropped two games against ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents this week, losing 7-2 to no. 5 Virginia Friday before falling at home 3-0 against no. 10 Boston College.
The Tribe (5-3) headed into Friday’s road matchup with the Cavaliers (7-1, 1-0 ACC) brimming with confidence as the winner of its past five games. However, Virginia’s potent offense made sure the College’s streak would not extend to six, the Tribe allowing a season-high seven goals.
Both teams traded goals to begin the first half, two goals by Cavaliers forward Greta Ell canceled out by senior forward Cammie Lloyd’s team-leading fifth goal of the season and senior midfielder Estelle Hughes’ 14th-minute goal.
The College did not score again for the rest of the game, Virginia tallying five unanswered goals, three of them coming before the halftime whistle. The Tribe actually outshot the Cavaliers in the first half 11-7, but Virginia proved to be the far more clinical side, taking a 5-2 lead into halftime.
The Tribe continued to create chances the rest of the way, ending the game with just four less shots than the Cavaliers, but the hosts continued to score goals. Ell finished off her hat trick less than 10 minutes into the second half, Virginia tacking on one more about five minutes later to secure the 7-2 final scoreline. Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Connor made all seven of her saves in the second half after she replaced redshirt junior goalkeeper Meredith Clay, who made her first career start against the Cavaliers.
The Tribe received no respite after the lopsided loss to Virginia, soundly shut out Sunday by Boston College (6-2, 0-2 ACC) in its first home game since Sept. 1.
The Eagles controlled the pace from the outset, putting the Tribe back line under constant pressure with its high-tempo offense. College head coach Tess Ellis said she had anticipated the fast pace of play.
“I said to the [Boston College] coach before the start of the game if they had a speed requirement for this team, because they’re very quick, a top-ten program that plays with a lot of speed,” Ellis said. “We knew that their attack up front would go to cage with speed, and that we needed to meet them outside the circle and meet them early where possible.”
The Tribe defense held off the Boston College attack until the 24th minute, with Eagles midfielder Fusine Govaert beating Connor with a shot following a penalty corner. The College had nearly taken the lead against the run of play earlier in the half, finding the back of the Boston College net, but the referee disallowed the goal.
The visitors continued to enjoy the majority of goal-scoring chances into the second half, the Eagles finishing with 24 shots compared to eight fired by the Tribe. Connor recorded 14 saves, the most by a College goalkeeper since 2009, with Ellis lauding her performance afterwards.
“Morgan has grown so much,” Ellis said. “She’s able to set the defense up in front, and sort of be that last line of defense, which you can tell she pulled a few and then the girls jumped in to help. So I think that’s a huge plus to have Morgan there this year.”
With the Tribe unable to score an equalizer, Boston College added two insurance goals in the game’s final 10 minutes to polish off the 3-0 win. Her team suddenly losers of two straight games after its five-game winning streak, Ellis said facing such strong opposition now will help the team down the road.
“I think this weekend, playing number five and number 10, it’s really going to set us up for the next couple of games,” Ellis said. “To play that type of game is really going to set us up for hopefully success when we come to conference play, which we need to do well in.”
The Tribe will return to action Friday when it hosts Pacific, tied for 24th in the national rankings, at Busch Field. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Nationally ranked for the first time since 2012, no. 18 William and Mary dropped two games against ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents this week, losing 7-2 to no. 5 Virginia Friday before falling at home 3-0 against no. 10 Boston College.
The Tribe (5-3) headed into Friday’s road matchup with the Cavaliers (7-1, 1-0 ACC) brimming with confidence as the winner of its past five games. However, Virginia’s potent offense made sure the College’s streak would not extend to six, the Tribe allowing a season-high seven goals.
Both teams traded goals to begin the first half, two goals by Cavaliers forward Greta Ell canceled out by senior forward Cammie Lloyd’s team-leading fifth goal of the season and senior midfielder Estelle Hughes’ 14th-minute goal.
The College did not score again for the rest of the game, Virginia tallying five unanswered goals, three of them coming before the halftime whistle. The Tribe actually outshot the Cavaliers in the first half 11-7, but Virginia proved to be the far more clinical side, taking a 5-2 lead into halftime.
The Tribe continued to create chances the rest of the way, ending the game with just four less shots than the Cavaliers, but the hosts continued to score goals. Ell finished off her hat trick less than 10 minutes into the second half, Virginia tacking on one more about five minutes later to secure the 7-2 final scoreline. Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Connor made all seven of her saves in the second half after she replaced redshirt junior goalkeeper Meredith Clay, who made her first career start against the Cavaliers.
The Tribe received no respite after the lopsided loss to Virginia, soundly shut out Sunday by Boston College (6-2, 0-2 ACC) in its first home game since Sept. 1.
The Eagles controlled the pace from the outset, putting the Tribe back line under constant pressure with its high-tempo offense. College head coach Tess Ellis said she had anticipated the fast pace of play.
“I said to the [Boston College] coach before the start of the game if they had a speed requirement for this team, because they’re very quick, a top-ten program that plays with a lot of speed,” Ellis said. “We knew that their attack up front would go to cage with speed, and that we needed to meet them outside the circle and meet them early where possible.”
The Tribe defense held off the Boston College attack until the 24th minute, with Eagles midfielder Fusine Govaert beating Connor with a shot following a penalty corner. The College had nearly taken the lead against the run of play earlier in the half, finding the back of the Boston College net, but the referee disallowed the goal.
The visitors continued to enjoy the majority of goal-scoring chances into the second half, the Eagles finishing with 24 shots compared to eight fired by the Tribe. Connor recorded 14 saves, the most by a College goalkeeper since 2009, with Ellis lauding her performance afterwards.
“Morgan has grown so much,” Ellis said. “She’s able to set the defense up in front, and sort of be that last line of defense, which you can tell she pulled a few and then the girls jumped in to help. So I think that’s a huge plus to have Morgan there this year.”
With the Tribe unable to score an equalizer, Boston College added two insurance goals in the game’s final 10 minutes to polish off the 3-0 win. Her team suddenly losers of two straight games after its five-game winning streak, Ellis said facing such strong opposition now will help the team down the road.
“I think this weekend, playing number five and number 10, it’s really going to set us up for the next couple of games,” Ellis said. “To play that type of game is really going to set us up for hopefully success when we come to conference play, which we need to do well in.”
The Tribe will return to action Friday when it hosts Pacific, tied for 24th in the national rankings, at Busch Field. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
