William and Mary women’s soccer (6-6-4, 4-2-2 CAA) posted its first back-to-back wins of the season over the weekend, soaring into second place on the Coastal Athletic Association South Division leaderboard. Thursday, Oct. 16, the Tribe beat Northeastern (3-7-5, 2-4-2 CAA) 3-0 before scoring a 1-0 win over Monmouth (10-5-1, 5-3 CAA) Sunday, Oct. 19. Both victories came at Martin Family Stadium. With one home game left in the season, the Green and Gold is 6-1-1 in Williamsburg.
The Tribe’s defense powered it to both wins. Across the two games, William and Mary let up zero goals and just four total shots on goal, outshooting its opponents by a combined margin of 40-7. Senior defender Nora Green-Orset was named the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week after scoring a goal against Northeastern and helping to hold Monmouth without a shot on goal. Freshman forward Ellie Leffer was named the CAA Rookie of the Week after recording the decisive goal against the Hawks.
Although Thursday’s game was played with a chill in the air, William and Mary started red-hot. According to Tribe head coach Julie Shackford ’88, her squad was looking forward to the cool weather after playing under the “100-degree” sun all season.
“It was beautiful,” Shackford said. “It was perfect soccer weather.”
William and Mary’s enthusiasm was evident in its play. The Tribe dominated Northeastern from the opening whistle, attempting nine shots on goal in the first half to the Huskies’ zero. In fact, Shackford’s group did not allow the visitors to get off a shot of any kind during the opening period. An offensive barrage led by senior forwards Ivey Crain and Sheridan Brummett left Northeastern with little room to breathe; the Huskies rarely found themselves on the attack. Northeastern junior goalkeeper Eliza Teplow was forced to make 11 saves on the day.
The visitors managed to stay afloat for the better part of the first half, but the Tribe’s pressure paid off in the 28th minute. Streaking into the left side of the goal box, Crain controlled a pass from senior midfielder Madison Moon and flipped it over Teplow’s head, giving William and Mary a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Brummett doubled her team’s advantage, deflecting a left-footed shot off a defender and into the net.
Over the course of the game, William and Mary outshot Northeastern 26-3 and 14-3 on goal, its largest margin against a conference opponent since it beat Hampton 7-0 in Oct. 2023. In evaluating her team’s play, Shackford praised its patience, which she said led to high-quality opportunities.
“I mean, I think we were really patient with the ball tonight, you know, and I think we didn’t rush things and force things, which we tend to do sometimes,” Shackford said. “I think we were really patient with the ball, and we moved it really quickly.”
The onslaught didn’t end in the first half. Although Northeastern finally managed to attempt a shot after the break, William and Mary continued to please the hearty homecoming weekend crowd. In the 47th minute, Green-Orset tapped in a corner kick that rolled through the Northeastern backline, putting the Tribe up 3-0. 43 uneventful minutes later, William and Mary had secured its third consecutive win over the Huskies.
The Tribe then looked ahead to Monmouth, a team that entered Sunday’s game riding a five-game winning streak during which it outscored opponents 13-2. Shackford identified the prolific Monmouth offense, including senior forward Summer Reimet, the conference’s second-leading scorer with nine goals, as a point of emphasis for the Tribe. According to Shackford, William and Mary’s goal was to “lock down on their front three, who’s been pretty prolific all season long, to keep the ball, make them move and hopefully fatigue them a little bit.”
With the skies clear, the wind blowing hard, and a number of Monmouth fans in the stands, the stage was set for the Tribe to take on the CAA North Division-leading Hawks. Having lost just one away game all season, Monmouth was unintimidated by the Martin Family Stadium crowd. Its spirit was made apparent when it quickly won a corner kick that was handled by freshman goalkeeper Gwen Doughty. She was instrumental in defending multiple dangerous crosses the Hawks generated out of the gate.
Midfielders Moon and junior Lindsay Wilson consistently battled for possession in the middle of the field, which helped the Tribe get the ball out of its own half and into Monmouth’s. Their efforts led to a number of chances by Crain and Moon herself, but none ended in goals.
Soon after, Reimet began causing problems for the Tribe’s defense. Although none turned into anything substantial, she ran loose to the top of the box several times. The Green and Gold’s preparation for Reimet was evident, as she was often put in one-on-one situations with William and Mary senior defender Leila Greene, who began shutting Reimet down.
Containing the Hawks’ offense was key to kick-starting the Tribe’s offense. Towards the end of the first half, William and Mary began generating chances at a high rate. Greene, who Shackford described as the Tribe’s “best player” of the day, made a substantial impact on both sides of the field, leading transitions from defense to offense and vice versa.
Greene’s efforts allowed forwards Leffler and Crain to start getting to work. Both began putting the ball in dangerous areas — Crain had multiple crosses that were barely defended by Monmouth’s defense. William and Mary attempted four shots in the last six minutes of the first half, but none found the back of the net.
The Tribe exited the locker room hungry for a lead, but a revitalized Monmouth made clear that it was not going to give up. Multiple times, the Hawks worked their way into William and Mary’s half of the field, but junior defender/midfielder Molly Widderich recorded multiple critical headers to halt the visitors’ chances.
The Hawks’ resurgence was short-lived. Led by Crain, William and Mary exhausted the Monmouth defense in an effort to beat sophomore goalkeeper Alex Scott, who made six saves on the day. Freshman midfielder/defender Ella Ledwith was seemingly the first to every loose ball in the midfield — she was a key player in William and Mary’s resurgence.
In the 78th minute, the Tribe scored at last. Freshman midfielder Mia Abbey played a through ball to Leffler, who tapped it past Scott for her third goal of the season. A late shot by Monmouth flew awry, and William and Mary ran the clock out on its victory.
Shackford attributed her team’s success to its tenacity, which she said prevented it from getting discouraged while waiting for a breakthrough.
“They stayed persistent, defensively locked in the whole time, and I think they always have confidence that they’re going to get one,” Shackford said.
At 6-6-4 and 4-2-2 in conference play, William and Mary now sits second in the CAA South, trailing North Carolina Wilmington (11-3-2, 7-0-1 CAA) and leading Charleston (8-6-2, 4-3-1 CAA) and Elon (9-2-4, 3-2-2 CAA). The top three teams in each division advance to the conference tournament, while the top two host games — depending on next weekend’s results, the Tribe has a chance to do so.
William and Mary’s final game of the regular season is against last-place Hampton (5-10-1, 0-7-0 CAA) Sunday, Oct. 26, at Martin Family Stadium. Despite the Pirates’ record, Shackford described them as “much-improved” and does not believe her squad will overlook the matchup.
“I don’t think this team is gonna take their foot off the gas,” Shackford said.
