Lacrosse: Tribe struggles against Towson, falls 17-5

Senior midfielder Cameron MacDonald carries the ball up the field against James Madison. COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Sunday, William and Mary played its last game of the season at home, taking on eighth-ranked Towson. Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes, but a run of seven consecutive goals from the Tigers ended the scoring drought and sealed away the game. The Tigers coasted to a 17-5 win to stay undefeated in the Colonial Athletic Association. Meanwhile, the College has yet to claim a conference victory.

The Tigers (12-2, 4-0 CAA) scored the first goal of the contest nearly seven minutes into the game, when junior attacker Carly Tellekamp scored her 30th of the season. However, the Tribe (4-10, 0-3 CAA) responded with a goal of its own two minutes later. Sophomore defender Beth Kuyk ripped a shot past the Tigers’ goalkeeper to even the game at 1-1.

Despite its quick answer, the College was unable to take the lead or even keep the game close after the tying goal, as the Tigers scored seven unanswered goals in the next 12 minutes. Tellekamp scored two more goals during the Tigers run, including the final goal of the stretch, to give her a hat trick in the first 21 minutes of the game. Sophomore midfielder Meredith Hughes, who led the College in scoring for the second consecutive game and had her third straight multi-goal game, finally ending the Tigers run to cut the College’s deficit to 8-2.

Towson led 11-2 at halftime, but Hughes scored her second goal of the game in the first 21 seconds of the second half to bring the Tribe within eight. After the Tigers took their first double-digit lead of the game, the Tribe scored back-to-back goals while holding the Tigers scoreless for nearly 16 minutes. Despite only giving up six goals in the second half, the Tribe’s offense still struggled to convert and the College fell to the Tigers 17-5. The Tigers’ balanced scoring was led by attacker Natalie Sulmonte’s four-goal effort and Tellekamp’s hat trick. The Tribe had four different players score and was led by Hughes’ two goals.

The College has now fallen in six consecutive games and is winless halfway through CAA play. The Tribe will travel to Drexel and Delaware for two more conference matchups next weekend before finishing its season at Elon April 28. The team needs to win two or three of those games in order to qualify for the CAA tournament. Only the top four of seven teams make the CAA tournament and the College is currently in last place at 0-3. However, the Tribe has already played the top two teams in the conference, James Madison and Towson, and so will look to pick up victories against lower-ranked teams this week.

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