William and Mary traveled to Norfolk to take on Old Dominion in the Tribe’s first road matchup of the 2019 season. The College looked to continue its momentum from a 10-6 victory over George Mason at home last Saturday on the strength of four goals by sophomore attacker Sophie Kopec. Meanwhile, the Monarchs entered Wednesday’s game winless on the season after three consecutive losses having lost their home-opener last Saturday to American, 11-7. Wednesday, the College (2-0) used an offensive onslaught in the first half to beat the Monarchs (0-4) for the second straight season, 17-10.
Neither team registered a shot in the first four minutes of action, but the College earned a free position shot with 25:49 to play in the opening half. Freshman midfielder Grace Ahonen took the shot for the Tribe and converted to give it an early 1-0 advantage. The Monarchs struck back nearly three minutes later, before the College edged back in front, 2-1. But with just over 20 minutes to play in the half, attacker Glory Johnson registered her seventh goal of the season for the Monarchs to knot the score at two apiece.
Nevertheless, the College responded with four consecutive goals to take a commanding 6-2 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining before the half. Kopec recorded one of the goals, but the Tribe benefited from a balanced offensive attack in the first half, with seven different players scoring the College’s first seven goals of the game. Junior goalkeeper Elsa Rall was also key to the Tribe’s scoring run by registering three saves in the first 20 minutes of action, while allowing just two goals. The Monarchs finally got back on track with 9:43 remaining in the opening period when Johnson scored her second goal of the evening to trim the deficit to three. Despite Johnson’s efforts, the Tribe’s offense was overpowering in the first 30 minutes, propelling it to a 10-3 halftime advantage. Freshman midfielder Belle Martire scored three of the last four goals of the half for the College, giving her a first-half hat trick. Rall finished the half with five saves, while conceding just three goals.
The Tribe scored the first two goals of the second half to give the College a 10-1 scoring run since the Monarchs had evened the score at two early in the first half. The Monarchs looked to fight back, tallying two-straight goals for the first time in the game, making the score 12-5 with more than 20 minutes to go in the game. Senior attacker Maddie Torgerson helped to right the ship for the Tribe, scoring the next goal to reestablish an eight-goal lead with the help of an assist by sophomore midfielder Anne Milwicz.
The Monarchs showed some resiliency and recorded the next two goals, as well, to claw back within six, 13-7. Johnson capped off her hat trick in the second half and midfielder Sophia Richie tallied three goals in the second half as part of the Monarchs’ comeback attempt. However, the College was never really threatened after taking a nine-goal lead early in the second half, and the Tribe was able to cruise to its second-straight victory, 17-10.
The Monarchs were led by Johnson’s three goals, while the College benefited from hat tricks by Milwicz and junior midfielder Meredith Hughes, along with four goals courtesy of Martire. In total, nine players scored for the Tribe. It returns home next week looking to stay unbeaten in non-conference play. The College will take on its third-consecutive in-state opponent when Virginia visits Williamsburg on Tuesday for their annual matchup against the Tribe. Last year, the Cavaliers throttled the Tribe 16-5, but the College will try to snap its losing streak against the Cavaliers next Tuesday.
