Sunday, Sept. 8, William and Mary faced off against Fairleigh Dickinson at Martin Family Stadium in Williamsburg, Virginia. Coming off a 1-0 win over High Point the preceding week, the Tribe was looking to establish a winning streak. However, the game ended in a 1-1 tie between the Knights (1-2-3) and the Tribe (2-3-1).
The Knights were able to establish an early lead in the game with a goal off a corner in the 15th minute by sophomore defender Christa Waterman, assisted by freshman midfielder Maja Skansberg. However, the Tribe did not leave this goal unanswered for long. Ten minutes after the Knights struck, the Tribe was awarded a corner and redshirt junior defender Lauren Kelly found the back of the net. The Tribe goal was assisted by junior forward Courtney Miles to tie the game at one. The first half was by far the more fast-paced of the game, with eight shots on goal for both sides and a total of three corners, two for the Tribe and one for the Knights. A promising corner at the end of the period for the Tribe came up short, and the first period ended 1-1.
The Knights had four more corners in the second period. Due to some intense play and good goalkeeping by the Tribe, none of these corners resulted in a Knights goal. This stanza featured less intense play than earlier in the game, though there were some good chances from both teams, including six shots for the Knights and four for the Tribe. Ultimately, neither team was able to put up a second goal. Throughout the game, senior goalkeeper Katelyn Briguglio had an impressive eight saves that kept the Tribe in the running despite some strong shots by the Knights.
At 1-1, the game went into an overtime period. Again, Briguglio was able to make two saves to keep the Tribe alive. However, the Tribe was unable to maintain possession of the ball near the Knights goal, and without being able to establish any sort of solid scoring opportunities, the Tribe only got one shot in that went out right.
With the score still resting at 1-1, the Tribe pushed on into double overtime. Six seconds in, Miles, who was coming off an early assist, had a shot that went out top. The Knights were later awarded a corner which provided a valuable opportunity for them to seal a victory, but junior midfielder Sofia Albertsson sent the kick wide left and kept the game at 1-1. A few minutes later, the Tribe was given the same opportunity when it was awarded a corner, but ultimately ended up not being able to get a shot on goal.
Overall, the Knights and the Tribe played a long and evenly matched game, as both teams were continuously able to keep up and defend against their opponent’s level of play. This marks the Tribe’s first tie of the season, as they travel to next play No. 5 Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville, Virginia.