Sunday, Oct. 6, William and Mary faced off against Georgetown at Busch Field in Williamsburg. The Tribe (5-5, 1-0 CAA) carried with it the momentum from a win against Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison earlier in the week, whereas the Hoyas (5-7) had lost three in a row. The Tribe continued to dominate, beating the Hoyas 7-2.
In the first period, the Tribe kept possession of the ball and was awarded four corners, giving it the opportunity to make some exciting plays. Senior forward Woodard Hooper established an early lead for the Tribe when she scored at 6 minutes, 42 seconds. Six minutes later, sophomore midfielder Cara Menges had a shot to the far post of the goal, and junior forward Melanie Strik was able to tip the ball in to score and put the Tribe up 2-0. Hoyas goalkeeper Megan Maynes had an impressive eight saves this period but could not stop the onslaught of the Tribe’s shots on goal. The period ended 2-0, with the Hoyas unable to answer the Tribe’s two early goals.
Just 30 seconds into the second quarter, Menges once again made a big play for the Tribe when she drove the ball in from the side of the goal and scored, advancing the Tribe ahead 3-0. The Hoyas were finally able to put up a fight against the Tribe midway through the second quarter when they were awarded two penalty corners, which allowed them to put some more pressure on the Tribe defense. Eight minutes into the second period, Hoyas midfielder Abby English swept the ball down to midfielder Ellie Maransky, who was able to pull the ball around Tribe sophomore goalkeeper Kimi Jones to give the Hoyas their first goal of the game. However, the Tribe got back its three-goal lead relatively quickly when, five minutes later, senior midfielder Annie Snead scored on a corner, assisted by senior midfielder Christie van de Kamp. At the half, the Tribe led Georgetown by an impressive 4-1.
The third period started off slower than the preceding two. The Tribe switched in senior goalkeeper Morgan Connor for this half, who ended up having three saves in total. With five minutes left in the quarter, the Tribe was awarded a corner on which sophomore midfielder Jorja Morgan and Snead assisted van de Kamp to put the Tribe ahead 5-1. With fierce play on both sides, the Tribe and Hoyas remained at a stalemate that lasted to the end of the period, despite two corners being awarded to the Hoyas in the last second of the quarter. Going into the fourth period, the Tribe led by four goals.
The Tribe once again came out with tenacity and power. Six minutes into the fourth quarter, Snead passed across the circle to Menges, who shot on goal and advanced the Tribe to a now 6-1 lead over the increasingly outmatched Hoyas. The Hoyas now needed to capitalize on any scoring opportunity they had. When awarded a corner with less than six minutes to play, Hoya forward Cami Osborne got the Hoyas their second goal of the game, with the assist from Hoya back Ali Cronin and Hoya midfielder Jax van der Veen. Soon after this Hoyas morale booster, Snead was able to switch the momentum of the game back in the Tribe’s favor, along with continuing her stellar performance this match. Tribe junior defender Haley Hopkins swept the ball from the side of the field down to Snead, who scored on a shot near the post. Now up 7-2 with three minutes left, the Tribe victory had been solidified.
This was the highest scoring match of the season for the Tribe, which defeated the Hoyas by a decisive five goal margin. Going into the next match, the Tribe will try to keep its two-game win streak alive and hopefully gain a winning record. The Tribe will play fellow CAA member Hofstra Oct. 11 at Busch Field at 6 p.m.