Sunday, Sept. 7, William and Mary field hockey (1-3, 0-0 CAA) recorded its first win of the season, defeating Lafayette (3-1, 0-0 Patriot) 2-1 at Busch Field in Williamsburg, Va. After a mostly scoreless match, Lafayette senior forward Catalina Rubel gave the Panthers the lead with less than seven minutes left in the game, tapping a close-quarters shot past sophomore goalkeeper Emma Cari. The Tribe was down to its last legs, but junior forward Josie Mae Gruendel singlehandedly mounted a frantic comeback, scoring two goals in the final two minutes, four seconds and catapulting William and Mary to victory.
Gruendel’s scores were the Tribe’s first of the campaign. William and Mary lost its opening three matches by a combined margin of 19-0, improving with every game but entering Sunday’s contest with a record of 0-3. For the 4:51 following Rubel’s goal, it seemed as though the Green and Gold would suffer another frustrating defeat, but Gruendel led the Tribe to an impressive upset of the formerly-unbeaten Lafayette, the defending Patriot League champion.
After taking a penalty corner in the 57th minute, the veteran hovered around the baseline as junior defender and midfielder Mackinzie Brown fired in a pass from the top of the shooting circle. The ball trickled under the stick of a Lafayette defender, and Gruendel prepared a shot. Panthers senior goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni failed to intercept the pass, allowing Gruendel to slap it in and tie the game at 1-1. 102 seconds later, she scored from the same spot in the same situation, taking advantage of a penalty corner to put the Tribe in the lead for good. Her brace was the first of her career and William and Mary’s first since Kellen Richbourg ’25 accomplished the feat last season.
William and Mary head field hockey coach Tess Ellis credited the victory to the hard work and motivation of her players, saying their trust in themselves and their game plan powered them to an unlikely comeback.
“I really don’t think it’s about what the coach says prior to a game that motivates them to win,” Ellis said. “I think it’s more about the hard work you put in leading up to a game and if you truly believe in your game plan and your ability on that given day. This is what truly motivates you to win in the last dying 30 seconds of the game.”
During its slow start to the season, William and Mary had allowed opponents to attempt an average of 24.3 shots per game while failing to generate clean looks itself. The Tribe was outshot by a combined 73-10 over its first three games, but according to Ellis, William and Mary put its previous struggles in the rear-view mirror in its match against Lafayette.
“You try not to think too much about what the scores were in previous games,” Ellis said. “It’s more about being present in the game that we’re taking on.”
The Tribe’s mindset led to improved results, as the Green and Gold attempted eight shots to the Panthers’ 11. Five of them came in the frenzied final stretch, but William and Mary also created scoring chances before the fourth period — in the 32nd minute, Brown and Gruendel both attempted powerful shots after a penalty corner, nearly taking the lead. On the afternoon, the pair combined for six of the Tribe’s eight shots.
William and Mary also got strong performances from Cari and junior goalkeeper Alexandra de Jesus, both of whom played 30 minutes. De Jesus started the game and manned the goal for the first half, allowing zero goals and making three saves, while Cari took over at halftime, allowing one goal and making two saves. It was Cari’s longest appearance of the season, while de Jesus continued her strong campaign. The upperclassman, starting for the first time in her career, has now made 34 saves on the year, the fourth-highest mark in Division I.
Attempting to extend its winning streak, the Tribe next takes the field Friday, Sept. 12, against No. 5 Duke (2-2, 0-0 ACC), which boasts victories over No. 4 Maryland (2-2, 0-0 Big 10) and American (1-2, 0-0 AEC), the latter of which beat William and Mary 10-0. The Blue Devils also fell to No. 1 Northwestern (4-0, 0-0 Big 10) by just one goal.
The matchup will be the Tribe’s most difficult of the season. However, Ellis is optimistic that the confidence instilled in her team by its win over Lafayette will carry over to future games.
“It’s always good to get your first win under your belt,” Ellis said. “It gives the team a vote of confidence that all the hard stuff that they’ve been working on at practice and in previous games has paid off.”
