William and Mary travelled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to compete against No. 1 ranked North Carolina. The College ultimately faltered on its defense and was unable to keep pace with the Tar Heels, falling 8-0.
In the first two minutes, the Tar Heels were immediately on the attack and took two shots which were kicked away by sophomore goalkeeper Kimi Jones. Three minutes in, the Tar Heels earned a penalty corner, during which they scored their second attempt to get a 1-0 lead.
Just a few minutes later, the Tar Heels raised their lead to 2-0 with two long breakaway passes. Jones was able to get a partial stop, but the ball made its way through the pads and into the goal. By the 13th minute, the Tribe began to show its competitiveness, but it was to no avail; freshman Sally Snead took her first shot from the high elbow kicked out by Tar Heels goalkeeper Amanda Henry and senior Woodard Hooper swiped it at the rebound, but her attempt swung wide at the post.
The Tar Heels scored an additional goal at the very end of the quarter, scoring their fourth attempt after Jones had prevented their first three point-blank attempts, bringing the score to 3-0.
The second quarter did not bode well for the College despite its best efforts. A shot on goal from sophomore Cara Menges was prevented by the Tar Heels. Despite a weak offense in the quarter, the Tribe did manage to improve its defense.
Keeping up pressure in the third quarter, the Tribe to attempted three shots and a penalty corner early on before the Tar Heels broke past its defense and brought their score up to a 7-0 lead entering the fourth.
Coming into the new quarter, the Tribe still played as if it could possibly catch up to the Tar Heels, fighting until the end despite an additional Tar Heel goal in the 49th minute. Senior Christie van de Kamp was able to shoot from the corner; her first shot was blocked but she was able to launch it into the goal on rebound. After an official review, however, the score was waved off due to the already great imbalance.
The College will stay on the road, travelling to Long Branch, New Jersey to face Monmouth Sun. Sept. 22 in a rematch of last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Opening Round game.