A William and Mary comeback attempt fell short in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup Thursday, as the Tribe (4-7-0, 1-2-0 CAA) dropped its CAA home opener to North Carolina-Wilmington (7-2-0, 1-1-0 CAA), 3-1.
The Seahawks opened scoring in the first half as midfielder Molly McGarry bent a corner kick into the net in the first 10 minutes, giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead. They added to that 15 minutes later as forward Grace Bondurant beat junior goalkeeper Katelyn Briguglio on a breakaway to pad the opposing team’s lead to two.
As has been a familiar story this season, redshirt junior forward Sarah Segan was the College’s player to watch, leading the team with three shots and scoring the Tribe’s only goal when she put home senior midfielder Mackenzie Kober’s pass to cut the Seahawks’ lead to one early in the second half. This sparked a surge of offense from the home team, with the Tribe volleying five shots towards the Seahawks’ net in the next twenty minutes. It could not, however, complete the comeback, and a late goal by UNC-Wilmington secured the Seahawks’ victory and ended the match in a 3-1 loss for the home team.
The Tribe held its own possession-wise in the loss, putting up 12 shots to the Seahawks’ 15 and outshooting them 8-7 in the second half. Segan, sophomore midfielder Erin Dailey and senior midfielder Arundel Miguelez were the only College players to record shots on goal. Segan’s tally brings her to a team-leading four goals on the season; she is one of only three players on the team to have scored multiple times in 2018.
The defeat brings the Tribe to 4-7-0 overall and 1-2-0 in the conference. The team will look to even out its CAA record as it continues its homestand Sunday with a 2 p.m. game against Drexel at Albert-Daly Field.