Wednesday, Feb. 15, William and Mary (0-2) lost to No. 21 Richmond (2-0) 20-4 at Martin Family Stadium in Williamsburg, Virginia.
“We have a lot of things to work on, it’s game two of the season and this group does not give up,” head coach Colleen Dawson said. “They are ready to fight and compete and will continue to get better.”
The Spiders dominated in the first quarter, scoring 11 goals and shutting out the Tribe.
“[In] the first quarter there was not a lot happening for us across the board — not the Tribe Lacrosse standard, and we acknowledged that,” Dawson said. “We played a top 25 opponent early in the season and we do that because we play a really tough conference. Richmond has been and continues to be a very strong program, and the CAA will throw a lot on our plate so it is good to see early on where we need to improve.”
The Tribe got on the board with nine minutes, seven seconds left in the second period with a goal from sophomore attack Delaney Roth. The Spiders tacked on two more goals, bringing the score to 13-1 at halftime.
The third quarter marked a stronger showing for the Tribe. The Spiders started off the scoring in the second half with a quick goal, but the Tribe responded with an offensive attack of its own. Freshman midfielder Maresa Moyer scored the first goal of her collegiate career with 8:21 remaining in the period. Richmond junior attack Marymargaret Quinn scored next, bringing the score to 15-2. The Tribe was able to build some momentum with two goals towards the end of the third period from senior midfielder Sarah Cipolla and sophomore midfielder Serena Jacobs. Despite outscoring the Spiders in the third, the Tribe still entered the fourth quarter down 15-4.
“We had a lot of people off the bench come in and step up,” Dawson said.
In the fourth quarter, Richmond’s junior attack Ali Susskind continued her dominant offensive attack with two more goals, bringing her to three goals in the game. The visiting team scored five more goals in the final quarter to finish with a 20-4 win over the Tribe.
The Spiders took 35 shots compared to the Tribe’s 10 and dominated draw controls 20-7. The Tribe had 12 ground balls recovered against the Spiders’ 23 recoveries. Junior defender Caroline Hertzberg led the Tribe in draw controls, caused turnovers, and ground balls.
“‘Me. You. Us.’ is our team motto for the year. That propels us to come together as a team and be unified. The girls love each other so the chemistry is there and we continue to push ourselves to get better,” Dawson said.
Dawson, who is entering her fourth season as head coach for the Tribe, is optimistic for the rest of the season.
“Our objective is to win games but our purpose is much greater than that,” Dawson said. “These girls are people before they are student-athletes, and we push them on and off the field to be great teammates, sisters, daughters and friends. I am very excited for this group to continue to come together, learn and grow from our past few games and continue to push forward.”
The Tribe will travel to Old Dominion (2-1) on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at L.R. Hill Sports Complex in Norfolk, Virginia.
