RICHMOND, Va. - The
No. 18-ranked William and Mary Tribe women's soccer team suffered its first
loss since September 8 on Sunday afternoon, falling to the VCU Rams in
Richmond, 1-0. With the defeat, the
College falls to 14-2-2 on the year and to 9-1 in the CAA. With the victory,VCU improves to 7-7-4 on the season and to 5-2-3 in league action.
With the 1-0 loss, the College saw its 10-match winning
streak and its 11-match unbeaten run get snapped. The shutout was just the second suffered by
the Tribe this season. Despite the loss,
the College has already clinched the CAA regular season championship and as the
No. 1 seed, the Tribe will host the CAA Tournament on November 3-6 at Martin
Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
In the first half, the Rams would do something only one
other team all season had done to the College - take a lead at halftime. In the 32nd minute, the Rams got
the match's first goal off the foot of Courtney Conrad, who beat the W&M
keeper to the lower right corner from inside the 18-yard box.
After 45 minutes, VCU had out shot the Tribe, 6-2, with
shots on goal even at 1-1. Senior Diana
Weigel had her shot saved in the 10th minute, while junior Cortlyn Bristol took
a shot in the 23rd.
In the second half, the Tribe's offense came out firing and dominated
most of the frame, getting four of its first five shots on goal. In the 52nd minute, junior Erin Liberatore's
shot on goal was saved. Just over a
minute later, sophomore Tara Connors had her look on goal get saved as
well.
Again, just over two minutes after Connors' shot, Bristol
took her second shot of the second half, only to see the VCU goalie record the
save. Bristol was on the attack again in
the 63rd minute, but her third shot of the day was saved by the Rams' keeper,
her fourth save of the second frame.
The Tribe's last look at an equalizer came with just 68
seconds left in regulation, but Liberatore's shot sailed high off the crossbar
and out of play, securing the win for VCU.
For the match, the Rams out shot the College, 11-9. The Tribe held the advantage in shots on
goal, getting six look on target while VCU only had three.
The No. 18 William and Mary Tribe women's soccer team will
conclude the regular season on Friday, October 28 when the College heads to
Norfolk to face the Old Dominion Monarchs.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live stats available at
TribeAthletics.com.
