For the past two seasons, the College of William and Mary (7-6, 3-1 CAA) has needed overtime to defeat in-state rival James Madison University (5-7, 1-2 CAA). Friday night was no exception as sophomore defender Sarah Jonson’s goal with .5 seconds left in overtime gave the Tribe a dramatic 14-13 victory.
“I got the pass from [sophomore midfielder] Grace [Golden], dropped it, then charged to the net, switched to my left hand and just ripped it,” Jonson said.
The sophomore’s desperation goal was a fitting end for a night that was unkind to many of the two teams’ top scorers. JMU lost their leading goal-scorer early in the game to a right knee injury. Still, the Dukes managed to keep the Tribe offense quiet in the opening period, trailing the College only 4-3 at halftime.
The second half opened with a JMU surge, as the Dukes scored five straight goals within the first ten minutes of the half. The Tribe managed only one offensive possession during the span.
“I told them that there was no need to panic. There’s a lot of time left on the clock, and we just need to pick it up,” Head Coach Christine Halfpenny said.
With 14:27 left in the second half, Golden ended the scoring slump with a goal, starting off the Tribe’s late rally. Led by junior midfielder Mary Zulty and sophomores Maggie Anderson and Golden, the College stormed back with four straight goals to tie the Dukes at 12 apiece with 2:35 left in regulation.
However, the Dukes were not ready to quit. Attacker Jaime Dardine forced overtime with a late goal that knotted the game at 13-all.
After an extra session which remained scoreless for nearly 10 minutes, the stage was set for Jonson’s heroics.
“I didn’t think I was going to score, but I didn’t see anyone to pass to, and so I just shot it,” Jonson said.
Sunday against George Mason University (5-7, 1-3 CAA), Golden was the more predictable hero. The sophomore netted the clinching goal with 4:46 remaining in overtime, as the Tribe inched by the Patriots
17-16.
Mason rushed out to an early 5-0 lead within the first ten minutes before sophomore defender Molly Wannen scored her 16th goal of the year. By the end of the first half, the Tribe found themselves down 10-6.
The second half was defined by multiple-goal streaks for both teams. Down 13-10 with 15 minutes to play in regulation, Golden notched her third score of the game to push the College to within two. Sophomore attacker Ashley Holofcener, junior attacker Mary Zulty and sophomore attacker Maggie Anderson all followed with goals of their own to give the Tribe a one-point advantage with less than 13 minutes to play. GMU followed with three goals over the next five minutes to go up 16-14 with eight minutes remaining.
The College would do the rest of the scoring thanks to tallies from Wannen, junior midfielder Katherine Rees and the game-winner from Golden early in overtime.
