William and Mary split two games this past weekend, dropping an 11-9 loss to Drexel Friday night but recovering to beat Hofstra 12-11 Sunday afternoon.
“I know they were tired after Friday night’s game,” head coach Brooke Ireland said. “They played amazing … but didn’t come out with it. This game I think they were tired … but they dug deep and came back to win.”
The Tribe’s weekend started on a sour note against visiting Drexel. Although the Tribe (4-8, 1-2 CAA) tied the game at 4-4 midway through the first half, Drexel dominated the final ten minutes of the period and went into intermission with a 7-4 lead.
The Tribe rallied in the second half, as sophomore attacker Ellen Shaffrey scored twice to help pull the score to an 8-8 tie. Drexel soon broke the tie, however, to take a 9-8 advantage. The Dragons never relinquished the lead, scoring twice more and weathering the College’s rally to coast to an 11-9 win.
The Sunday contest against Hofstra proved more rewarding for the College. Despite falling behind 1-0 in the opening minutes, the Tribe quickly gashed the Pride’s defense to take a 7-2 lead. Shaffrey, junior attacker Taelor Salmon and senior attacker Kyrsten Mackrides each scored twice during the run.
Hofstra responded with two consecutive goals near the end of the half to reestablish a presence in the game. The College had a chance to score just before halftime, but Mackrides’ pass to Salmon sailed out of bounds, and the Tribe went into intermission with a three-goal advantage. The Tribe outshot the Pride 13-8 in the half and benefited from multiple saves from junior goalkeeper Colleen Nofi.
After halftime, the Tribe struck first, with Mackrides netting her third goal of the day in the first minutes. The Pride refused to fade, however, trimming the Tribe’s lead to 8-7 with three consecutive strikes in just a few minutes and pressuring the host to maintain its slim lead.
Hofstra’s 6-1 scoring run seemed certain to push the Pride back into a tie, but freshman attacker Zoe Boger caught a pass in the center of the Pride’s defense and fired a shot into the net, stretching the Tribe lead to 9-7 and giving it a crucial dose of momentum. The two-goal advantage was short lived, however, as Hofstra scored shortly after to pull within one goal of the Tribe’s lead with 11 minutes remaining.
Although the Tribe scored again, Hofstra did not wilt, pulling the score to just 10-9 with six minutes remaining. The Tribe controlled the ball for the next several minutes, aiming to run out the clock, but Hofstra recovered a ground ball and scored at the end of a chaotic possession to tie the game at 10 apiece.
But just when the Tribe seemed finished, Shaffrey took a pass from junior attacker Jenna Dougherty and knifed through Hofstra’s defense for a smooth score. The goal was Shaffrey’s third of the day and gave the Tribe an 11-10 lead with fewer than two minutes left.
Seconds later, Hofstra missed its next shot but drew a foul, setting up a free shot for Brittain Altomare. Altomare’s conversion tied the game with 40 seconds remaining and forced the game into overtime.
The Tribe allowed the clock to run down in the first overtime period, waiting until the last minute before attempting a shot. Trading fouls, the Tribe finally regained possession with 30 seconds left on the clock.
Mackrides found possession at midfield and was violently fouled with 12 seconds left. However, the senior shook off the foul and fought her way to the net, drawing a second foul and earning a free-position shot.
Mackrides converted the shot, good for her fifth goal of the day. With two seconds left in the period, the Tribe led 12-11.
“Whenever I get knocked down, I get back up, forget about what happened, and focus on the next play,” Mackrides said.
The Tribe will rest after two intense games in three days. The College returns to action when it visits Towson Friday.