To conclude the regular season, William and Mary hosted its final home game against Colonial Athletic Association opponent Towson Sunday at Martin Family Stadium. The Tribe (7-9-2, 3-4-2 CAA) claimed a decisive 3-1 victory over the Tigers (5-11-3, 2-6-1 CAA).
The Tribe set the tone early in the game with a goal by senior midfielder Rachel Moore in the 17th minute of the game off an assist by freshman midfielder Erin Dailey. This marked Moore’s fourth goal of the season, her 22nd career goal and Dailey’s second assist of the season.
This was also Moore’s first goal on home turf during the last home game of her final season.
“It definitely gave us momentum,” Moore said. “We were killing them in the beginning and putting one away early definitely helped us a lot.”
Senior defender Elysse Branton was also able to leave her mark during her final home game, as she added a second goal to the scoreboard for the Tribe in the 27th minute. This goal was assisted by redshirt sophomore forward Sarah Segan after she crossed it into the center from the right side.
“Segan put it [the ball] on a platter for me, so that was amazing,” Branton said. “All I had to do was tap it in — she did all the work.”
“Segan put it [the ball] on a platter for me, so that was amazing,” Branton said. “All I had to do was tap it in — she did all the work.”
The College held this lead and ended the half sustaining its shutout.
Segan, proving yet again to be an integral member of the team, contributed the third goal unassisted for the College in the 48th minute. She outmaneuvered the defender before centering the ball into the goal around Tiger goalkeeper Taylor Sebolao, who was set on the close post.
Towson continued to fight and was rewarded in the 75th minute of the game when the College gave up its shutout after a powerful shot by Towson defender Sam Lotti.
The remaining 15 minutes of the game were scoreless, but with several close opportunities for both teams.
The match ended with a Tribe victory, supported by its 19 shots, 13 of which were on frame, as opposed to Towson’s 10 shots, only 5 of which were on frame. Towson had nine fouls called against it and Tiger midfielder Madi Lawrence and Sebolao each received yellow cards in the 43rd and 79th minutes of the game, respectively.
Looking ahead, the Tribe will travel to James Madison University next Sunday to compete in the CAA quarterfinals. The Dukes will look to defend their turf after beating the College 2-0 during regular season play.
“We’re definitely peaking at the right time,” said Branton. “I’m really hoping we can take this into JMU and hopefully beat them in their house and move into the semifinals and finals.”
Head coach John Daly said he hopes that the confidence gained with this win will carry over to the game against James Madison next week.
“When we played at James Madison it was the first conference game and we didn’t have Sarah [Segan] and she is very very important to us,” Daly said. “We were a bit flat and they came out [as] gangbusters so we just have to make sure that we come out with that same level of intensity next weekend.”