William and Mary (0-2) fell to Louisville (3-1) 18-5 at Martin Family Stadium Sunday afternoon. Regardless of the loss, the Tribe stayed competitive in the first half and held a groundball advantage throughout the entire game.
In the first half, the Cardinals started with a 3-0 lead, but sophomore attack Zoe Boger managed to put one in the back of the net with an assist by senior midfielder Bridget Brown. With 20 minutes left in the half, Brown scored with an assist from Boger.
After another goal for the Cardinals, senior midfielder Taelor Salmon kept the Tribe within striking distance with a goal in the remaining 10 minutes.
A minute after Salmon’s goal, junior attack Ellen Shaffrey tied the score 4-4 with an assist from junior attack Kaleigh Noon. Despite a hard fight from the Tribe for a comeback, the Cardinals scored six more goals. The score at the end of the half was 4-10.
“I wouldn’t call us inexperienced, but we are a young team with a lot of young talent: We have multiple freshman and sophomores getting a lot of playing time,” senior defender Hannah Clarke said. “There also have been a lot of position switches as we’re getting into the season.”
The Cardinals did not let up in the second half. In the first 10 minutes of the second period, they started with eight more goals, making the score 18-4. Freshman midfielder Shannon Quinn was able to give the Tribe another goal. However, the effort proved futile as the Tribe lost with a final score of 18-5.
“I think it was a confidence thing today,” head coach Hillary Fratzke said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of lack of talent, I really think it’s just a lack of me, to mentally prepare them and to show that talent.”
The Cardinals had a 17-8 draw advantage. The Tribe had a 14-13 turnover advantage and a 17-15 groundball advantage.
The Tribe will play Coastal Carolina at home Saturday at 1 p.m.
Flat Hat Writer Sumner Higginbotham contributed to this article.