Coming off of a 10-day break, William and Mary traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a matchup against Wake Forest. The game between the Tribe and the Demon Deacons was originally scheduled for last Friday, Sept. 14, but Hurricane Florence led to it being rescheduled for a rare midweek game Sept. 19. The Tribe entered the game coming off a three-game win streak, but the Demon Deacons (3-4) scored early and often, and the Tribe’s (3-3) offense struggled to gain any traction in a 4-1 defeat.
The Tribe got off to a slow start against the Demon Deacons, falling behind 2-0 in the opening five minutes. Penalty corners plagued the College in the early going, as the first two goals came off of penalty corners. Just over two minutes into the game, back Anne van Hoof converted on the Demon Deacons’ first goal off of assists by forward Alexis Grippo and midfielder Megan Anderson. 97 seconds later, Grippo and Anderson once again combined to get the ball to van Hoof off of the penalty corner. Van Hoof buried her second goal of the afternoon to double the Demon Deacons’ lead. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Connor was pulled from the game after just over eight minutes.
The College was dominated by Wake Forest in all facets of the game in the first half. The Tribe could not muster a single shot or penalty corner, while the Demon Deacons scored two goals off of nine shots, four shots on goal and five penalty corners. Van Hoof led the way for the Demon Deacons in the opening 35 minutes, with three shots and both of the goals for her team. Freshman goalkeeper Kimi Jones recorded two saves for the College in the first half, and the Tribe did not allow a goal for the final 30 minutes of the half.
Wake Forest came out strong again in the second half and scored their third goal on yet another penalty corner. This time, Anderson, who had assisted on the Demon Deacons’ first two goals, blasted a shot past Jones to give Wake Forest a three-goal lead with less than 28 minutes left in the game. After the Demon Deacons stretched their lead to four, the College answered back 25 seconds later, scoring on its first shot of the game. This time, the Tribe benefited from a penalty corner, its first of the game, and junior forward Cata Days scored off assists from junior midfielder Christie van de Kamp and freshman midfielder Cara Menges.
Ultimately, the College was outshot 14-3 and conceded six penalty corners to the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest’s relentless attack and Tribe’s inability to muster any early offense resulted in the College falling 4-1.
The Tribe will not play again until Sunday, when it hosts the number-two ranked team in the country, Connecticut. The Huskies have won three of the past five national championships, including last year when they went undefeated en route to a 2-1 victory in the championship game over Maryland. The Huskies have raced out to a 7-0 start this season, including four victories over opponents ranked in the top-15 in the nation. The Tribe will look to pull the upset and spoil their bid at a second-consecutive undefeated season.
