William and Mary (3-5, CAA 0-1) lost 15-6 against No. 25 Elon (7-0, CAA 2-0) in its CAA women’s lacrosse conference opener Saturday, Apr. 3 at Busch Field.
The Phoenixes started the game with a 7-0 run, including three goals from senior attacker Sara Bouwman. The Tribe scored just one goal in the first half, which came from junior midfielder Grace Ahonen.
Facing an eight-goal deficit heading into the second half, the Tribe made several adjustments at the break.
“We went into the second half focusing on getting it over in the clear safely and finding the 2v.1 on the backside,” junior Sabrina Schrader said. “We really just needed to play our game and be confident with the ball by having seven threats on offense.”
The Tribe battled back to make the score 11-4 halfway through the second half after two free position goals from Schrader and freshman Kathleen Cozzi.
However, Phoenix senior attacker Mae McGlynn scored her fourth and fifth goals of the game to extend the Phoenix’s lead to nine.
Ahonen and Cozzi each scored their second goals of the game towards the end of the second half, but Elon held strong, winning by a final margin of 15-6.
Despite their first half struggles, the Tribe showed significant improvement on both ends of the ball in the second half. The Phoenix outshot the Tribe by just one on offense, but the Tribe allowed fewer turnovers, giving up possession just 15 times (29-28).
Schrader racked up a career-high eight draw controls, as well as three ground balls and a caused turnover.
“I was able to get a lot of shots off because my teammates were setting me up for success and finding me when I was open,” Schrader said.
On defense, the Tribe outscored the Phoenix 22-13 on ground balls. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Donovan accounted for half of the Tribe’s forced turnovers with 3.
“Our defensive motto this season has been ‘one shot, one opportunity’ and we really embraced that today,” Donovan said.
Senior goalie Devon Fleischman finished with 10 saves and seven ground balls.
The Tribe will travel to No. 15 Towson next Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will not count as a conference match-up.
“We will be focusing on strong team defense and a fast-paced offense that positions all of our players as threats,” Donovan said.