In a pair of close games, William and Mary dropped two one-goal decisions at the JMU Invitational in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to Maryland and Dayton to open its 2018 season.
Thursday’s season opener against Maryland started with a busy opening 10 minutes as both teams scored on their first shots. The Terrapins got one in the net first, but the College answered back just two minutes later as sophomore forward Courtney Miles put in a rebound from redshirt junior forward Sarah Segan. The goal was both her and the Tribe’s first goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1.
The game stayed even for most of the rest of the match, with starting junior goalkeeper Katelyn Briguglio making three saves to keep the score even. The Terrapins finally buried one to pull ahead with just three minutes left in the game. Although Miles attempted a second game-tying shot, it sailed over the crossbar in the last minute, and the Tribe was forced to concede the loss, 2-1.
Both the College and Maryland attempted 10 shots in the game. Maryland got five of those on goal, while the College had four shots on net. Along with the assist on Miles goal, Segan had two shots with both being on goal. Coming off the bench, sophomore midfielder Colleen Norton attempted three shots, though none of the three were on target.
It took longer for either team to break through in Sunday’s match versus Dayton, with both teams going scoreless for the first 78 minutes. Once again, the opposing team was first on the board as the Flyers finally got one past Briguglio. This time, it took just one minute for the Tribe to find a response. Freshman forward Renee Kohler sunk her first career tally into the back of the net to tie the game in the 80th minute and send it into overtime, knotted at 1-1.
Extra time saw the College bombarded, as the Flyers got a shot off in the first two minutes and then threatened with a pair of corner kicks. They scored five minutes into the overtime period, making the match another 2-1 loss for the Tribe.
Dayton outshot the Tribe handily but was not able to keep many of those chances on goal. The Flyers attempted 11 shots to just five for the College. Despite the disparity, both teams finished with four shots on target. No player attempted more than one shot for the Tribe, while Briguglio notched two saves in net.
After two close defeats to start out the fall, the Tribe has the chance to even out its record with a two-game homestand this weekend. It will play its home opener against Virginia Thursday before facing off against Coastal Carolina Sunday, both in Williamsburg.
