The William and Mary field hockey team came from behind not once, but twice on a wet and wild Friday evening at Busch Stadium to claim the upset victory over No. 20 Northeastern 4-3 in the conference opener for both schools. The Tribe, receiving votes in the latest national polls, improves to 6-1 on the year and 1-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Huskies fall to 5-4 overall, 0-1 in league play.
Northeastern jumped ahead early with a pair of set-piece goals in the first 20 minutes, as Crystal Poland (the nation's leading scorer) added two more goals to her season total. Despite that, the Tribe outshot the Huskies 10-6 in the opening period and stellar defensive work from senior goalkeeper Camilla Hill (Williamsburg, Va.) kept the game from getting out of hand. Junior Christine Johnson (Williamsburg, Va.) turned in the play of the half for the Tribe, intercepting a Northeastern shot just moments after it had left the attacker's stick in front of an open goal to record her first defensive save.
While the Tribe dominated the first half stat sheet and just couldn't break through to the goal, the second half was a different story entirely. W&M came out of the break on fire, setting up a relentless attack on the visiting goal that yielded 12 shots to just four for Northeastern. The rally began at the turn of the 53rd and 54th minutes. On a breakaway, freshman Brittany Hopkins (Springfield, Va.) crossed a centering pass into the circle from almost on the right baseline, where she found junior Ashley Kyle (San Diego, Calif.). The veteran got the end of her stick on te pass, and deflected the ball past the goalkeeper and into the boards in the far corner for her first goal of the season.
Three minutes later, the Tribe caught the Huskies flat-footed again on the same play, with Hopkins centering this time to junior Allison Moran (Wynnewood, Pa.), who went nearside with her shot to score her first collegiate goal and tie the score for the first time at 2-2. In the 61st minute, Northeastern went back up on top after Poland scored her third on a penalty stroke. The sequence started with a corner for the Huskies, and Poland took a shot that Hill deflected into the air. The ball landed behind the Tribe keeper, and started bouncing toward the open goalmouth. Junior Maria Caro (Martinsville, N.J.) made what looked like a great defensive save, but the referees disagreed and called for a penalty stroke.
Down 3-2 with under 10 minutes to go, W&M needed only two-and-a-half minutes to tie the score again. Off a corner, Caro passed the ball along to the top of the circle to the weak side of the defense. Freshman Emma Clifton (Loomberah, NSW, Australia) took the pass, and blasted a shot into the backboard that the Northeastern keeper could only watch go by. The clock continued to tick down, and it looked as if overtime was in the cards when W&M earned a final corner opportunity. This time, it was Clifton who took the first pass, then sent the ball to the back side of the defense to redshirt-freshman Jeltje Loomans (Houten, The Netherlands). Loomans sent her shot into the boards with 63 seconds left, scoring her first collegiate goal and the game-winner at the same time. The Tribe defense was on the spot once more in the final minute and proved up to the task, keeping the Huskies out of the circle until the horn sounded.
William and Mary is back in action on Sunday, hosting Hofstra at 12 p.m.
