Saturday, Feb. 24 in Richmond, Virginia, the William and Mary (1-3) women’s lacrosse team dropped its second road contest of the season to the Richmond Spiders (4-0) by a score of 22-9. Richmond extended its win streak to four with the victory. The Tribe will look to improve upon last season’s 6-9 record but will need to string together several key victories to find success with that goal.
Entering the contest, the College was coming off a momentum-building 11-4 victory at home against the Old Dominion Monarchs just three days prior. The win marked the first of the early season for the Tribe, as it looks to gain momentum in anticipation of the postseason. Sophomore Belle Martire has been a force to be reckoned with this season, leading the Tribe in goals with 16 in total. The attacker from Baltimore, Maryland paced the College again on Saturday with four goals scored and four draw controls.
Despite the score, senior Elsa Rall has been effective in goal this season, recording double-digit save totals on three occasions including Saturday’s contest. Fellow senior Meredith Hughes performed well too, recording a goal and an assist.
Richmond dominated the Tribe on its home field, outplaying the College in all statistical categories including shots, draw controls, ground balls and turnovers. The Spiders opened up a quick 8-1 lead in the first half, before the Tribe mounted a comeback. After tacking on a few more goals, Richmond led 13-5 at halftime, and the College did not have a chance in the second half. If that wasn’t enough, Richmond scored six straight goals in the waning minutes of the game to extend the final margin to 13.
Up next, the College faces another stiff test when the nationally ranked Duke Blue Devils come to town on Wednesday evening. That game is set to begin at 5 p.m. inside Martin Family Stadium, and the Tribe will look to bounce back before heading out to Blacksburg, Virginia to face the Virginia Tech Hokies on March 4th.
