After a thrilling overtime victory Saturday over Rutgers, William and Mary (3-1) returned to Busch Field Monday to shut out Appalachian State. The College extended its winning streak to three games following yesterday’s performance and is set to face no. 7 Princeton Saturday.
Against the Mountaineers of Appalachian State, the College wasted no time scoring as goals from freshman midfielder Maria Caro and sophomore midfielder Mikala Savaides set the game’s tone within the first five minutes.
In net, junior goalie Carrie Thompson saved five first half shots. Sophomore Camilla Hill relieved Thompson in the second half and made two tremendous kick-saves.
“Both are playing very well,” Head Coach Peel Hawthorne said. “Until someone completely jumps ahead of the other, we will go with it.”
The goalie-by-committee strategy has not rattled the confidence of Thompson.
“My team is more important than anything I do,” Thompson said. “Winning is what matters most.”
On the other end of the field, the Tribe’s offense overwhelmed Appalachian State. Three second half goals from sophomore forward Kelsey Nawalinski, sophomore midfielder Leah Zamesnik and junior midfielder Liz Loudy sealed away the game.
“We certainly had plenty of opportunities,” Hawthorne said. “We should have scored four to five more goals just by tapping the ball in.”
The Scarlet Knights (0-4) proved to be a tougher opponent for the College Saturday. Tribe junior forward Erica Eng scored her first three goals of the season, the last of which was the deciding factor in the overtime victory.
“My first instinct was that I should take the shot so I don’t have to run back down the field and play defense after just coming from playing defense,” Eng said.
Eng and the Tribe tightened their defense in the second half after falling behind 2-0 in the opening 35 minutes.
“[Thompson] gave up two tough goals, but that was the result of defensive errors; we didn’t get back in time,” Hawthorne said.
Following a Rutgers’ goal early in the second half, the College’s relentless pressure inside the Scarlet Knights’ zone paid off. Eng scored her first two goals of the game by tipping in shots from senior forward Wesley Drew and Zamesnik mid-way through the second half to pull the College within one at 3-2.
The equalizer came from Caro. Further benefiting from miscommunication within Rutgers’ defense, junior midfielder Jenna Cinalli then added a goal off a rebound, making it 4-3 with seven minutes left to play.
Eng’s golden goal completed the Tribe’s first hat-trick since Oct. 2003, when Kelly McQuade ’04 and Kelli Duggan ’03 notched three goals each against James Madison in an 8-3 win.
