The William and Mary field hockey team fell Sunday afternoon to Richmond, 2-1, after a close and hard-fought match.  The Tribe stands 9-3 on the year, while the Spiders improved to 6-4 with the win.

Box Score

All three goals were scored in the first half, beginning with a Richmond breakaway in the ninth minute.  Four minutes later off a corner, senior Christine Johnson (Williamsburg, Va.) cracked a shot that was blocked out by the defense, but she corraled the rebound and sent it over to freshman Pip Saunders (Mittagong, NSW).  The starting midfielder slapped the ball into the back of the boards for her third goal of the year, knotting the score at 1-1.  The Tribe had three more looks at goal in the half, but it was the Spiders who were able to score in the 24th minute, and take the 2-1 lead into the intermission.

After the break, W&M had five penalty corners and three more shots in the second half, but was unable to score an equalizer despite several good chances.  The Tribe also kept Richmond out of the goal on the other end of the field, despite playing down a player for 10 minutes and down two players (9-v-11) for a two minute span.  Freshman goalkeeper Meredith Savage (Virginia Beach, Va.) made her collegiate debut in the match, playing the enter second half and making one save.

William and Mary returns home for the next two weeks, hosting three matches in that span.  The Tribe will welcome #20 Drexel to Busch Field on Friday at 7 p.m., in a crucial CAA match-up, before hosting Towson Sunday at 1 p.m.