William and Mary (1-1) shut out Long Island (0-3) at home Sunday, 2-0. Despite a few days of stormy weather, sunny Williamsburg quickly became a beautiful setting for this early season matchup. Sunday’s game marked the first–ever matchup between these two schools as well. The Tribe entered this game sitting at 0-1 on the season after dropping their season opener to No. 3-ranked Duke last Sunday and looked to gain some momentum heading into a busy week of games.
The 25th-ranked Tribe quickly took control of the game, and never looked back en route to a dominating performance. After a scoreless first quarter in which the Sharks only attempted one shot, the Tribe finally found the back of the net in the 27th minute of regulation. Senior forward Woodard Hooper took a pass from junior forward Ashley Drum and flicked it past the goalkeeper to open up the scoring on the afternoon. The Williamsburg, Virginia native is now tied for 13th on the school’s all-time scoring list. The goal marked the first of the season for the Tribe as well. Just 10 minutes later, the Tribe earned a pivotal penalty shot and senior midfielder Christie van de Kamp came up big to effectively shut the door on the Sharks. The captain made no mistake with the penalty, putting the Tribe ahead 2-0.
The Tribe dominated in the afternoon, outshooting the Sharks 26-6 and holding an 11-3 advantage on shots on goal as well. Despite attempting six corners throughout the match, the two Tribe goals did not come off of corner shots. Likewise, the Tribe committed zero fouls on the afternoon, key to their effective defensive play.
Up next, the Tribe heads south for a key in-state matchup against Old Dominion Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 5 p.m. That game marks the first in a four-game road trip in which the Tribe travels up and down the east coast, with games against Virginia Commonwealth, North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Monmouth before returning home to face Vermont Sept. 29. The UNC matchup will be a rematch of last season’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament first round game, in which UNC dominated the Tribe 4-0. UNC is currently ranked first in the country, and the Tribe will surely look to change that next Sunday at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. But first, the Tribe will look to continue their winning ways against the Monarchs in Norfolk.
