WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary field hockey team rallied from a two-goal deficit, but fell on a late goal to Northeastern, 3-2, on Friday night.
Jesse Ebner and
Taylor Gladey each scored to pull W&M even in the first half, but NU's Lindsay Bennett tallied a hat trick to lead the Huskies to the victory. W&M fell to 7-10 overall and 2-3 in CAA play, while Northeastern improved to 7-11 and 3-2 in league action.
After the Tribe fell into an early 2-0 hole, W&M turned up the pressure and scored two goals less than five minutes apart. The Green and Gold broke through off a corner in the 16th minute. Senior
Taylor Hodge sent a hard pass to Ebner, who punched the ball in from close on the left side. It was Ebner's second goal of the season and Hodge's second assist.
The Green and Gold found the equalizer in the 21st minute. Sophomore
Pippin Saunders penetrated the circle on the left side and sent a pass to the right post. Gladey was there to push across her first goal of the year, pulling the Tribe even at two. The helper marked Saunders' ninth of the season, which is tied for the fifth-best single-season total in W&M history.
The Tribe had a pair of breakaway chances early in the second half, but could not find its third goal. Freshman
Olivia Hajek broke free down the right side in the 45th minute, but NU goalkeeper Becky Garner came off her line to poke the ball away. Hajek recovered and sent a shot toward the post that Garner kicked wide. In the 52nd minute, junior
Brittany Hopkins raced down the right side, but her attempt went wide of the left post.
Northeastern found the game-winner in the 57th minute. Emma Lamison cut along the ride side and W&M's goalkeeper
Meredith Savage blocked her shot attempt. The rebound, though, spilled over to Bennett, who cleaned it up, scoring into the left-side boards. It was Bennett's 10th of the season as she put NU on top for good at 3-2.
For the game, W&M outshot Northeastern, 14-9, and held an 8-4 cushion in shots on goal. The Tribe also generated six penalty corners to Northeastern three. Garner finished with six saves in picking up the victory for the Huskies, while Savage registered the lone W&M save.
Northeastern took an early lead, scoring twice in the opening 6:30 of the game. Bennett scored less than five minutes into the contest off a long ball from Caroline Judge. Bennett cut in front of W&M goalkeeper
Cate Johnson and tipped in the straight-on pass to give the Huskies a 1-0 advantage.
The margin went to 2-0 at the 6:29 mark as Bennett struck again. Natalie Stewart fed Bennett on the right side of the area, and she cut back to the left before finishing into the right side of the cage.
