Without three opening-night starters due to injury, including two preseason all-conference players, William and Mary fell 4-0 to Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra (5-3-3, 2-0-1 CAA). The Tribe (2-5-1, 0-1-1 CAA) could not convert on chances early in the game, then gave up three goals in just over a 10-minute span, digging a hole too big to climb out of.
As senior forward Graham Guidry, senior forward Ryder Bell and senior defenseman Marcel Berry sat out of the action, the game pace out of the gates was fast on both sides of the pitch. Each team got five shots off within the first 25 minutes, and the College had four corner kicks in that time span. However, the Tribe would not convert, leaving the score knotted at zero.
The momentum shifted in the 27th minute when midfielder George O’Malley struck for the Pride, taking a pass and putting the ball past freshman goalkeeper Connor Andrews to open up a one-goal lead. Then, in the 34th minute, forward Matthew Vowinkel found a cross in the box and made no mistake, finishing it to put Hofstra up 2-0. Just three minutes later, Vowinkel tallied his second goal of the game, this one on a header.
The College failed to answer, not posting a single shot after the first Pride goal was scored. With a three-goal deficit, Tribe head coach Chris Norris pulled Andrews in favor of senior keeper Sam Onyeador. Andrews left the game with a save and three goals allowed.
Starting the second half, the Tribe had renewed energy. It put up four shots in a three-minute span, including two from senior forward Antonio Bustamante. But the College was quickly deflated when Hofstra extended the lead again in the 55th minute, this time when forward Luke Brown took possession in the box and put it cleanly into the net. The Tribe would not threaten for the rest of the game, taking home a 4-0 thrashing.
The Tribe travels back to Virginia Oct. 3 for a matchup with Old Dominion. Then, it looks to get on track in conference play with back-to-back home games against Northeastern Oct. 6 and James Madison Oct. 10.