The William and Mary field hockey team kept its record perfect on the opening weekend, defeating VCU 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Busch Field.  The Tribe improves to 2-0 to start the year, while the Rams fall to 0-1.

Box Score

W&M's tremendous depth was once again a major factor, with four different players recording the four goals, and three more players getting credit for assists.  Through two games, all nine of the Tribe's goals have come off a different stick.  Getting credit for the win was senior Giovanna Golen (Charlotte, N.C.), whose tally in the 32nd minute broke open a 1-1 tie.  That goal was asssisted by junior Emma Clifton (Loomberah, NSW).  Goals also came from junior Brittany Hopkins (Springfield, Va.), redshirt-junior Jesse Ebner (Sinking Spring, Pa.), and freshman Maria Pastor (Burke, Va.), who scored the first goal of her collegiate career.  Other assists on the afternoon went to sophomore Pippin Saunders (Mittagong, NSW) and redshirt-junior Navneet Singh (Auckland, N.Z.).

The Tribe scored first in the contest just seven-and-a-half minutes in, after Saunders drove in along the baseline.  In close with defenders all around and the VCU goalkeeper in front of her, she passed the ball across the cage and found Hopkins at the far post who slapped it into the boards.  The Rams equalized things four minutes later on a penalty corner, when Kendall Combs' shot deflected off Cate Johnson's (Charlottesville, Va.) saving dive and richoted into the top of the netting.

Both teams settled down after that early flurry, until the Tribe was pressing on the attack with under five minutes to go in the first half.  Clifton took a shot on a slight angle that was saved by the goalkeeper, but the rebound when right to Golen who banged it past her to score her first career goal and put W&M up, 2-1.  Not four minutes later, the Tribe earned a penalty attempt as the clock was counting down to halftime.  With the timer off, the insertion went in to Chaney Manganello (Richmond, Va.), who passed it across to Singh.  Singh winged a shot in hard, and the rookie Pastor was there to tip it past the goalie and into the boards for a 3-1 lead going into the huddle.

Coming back out in the second half, it was VCU's turn to respond early, earning another corner attempt at the end of the 42nd minute.  Once again it was Combs on the shot, and she sent it past Johnson into the boards for her second goal of the day.  That was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way, however, as the Tribe clamped down on possession and began dictating play.  The final score of the afternoon came at the start of the 68th minute, after another corner for W&M.  Clifton had first crack at the ball, but her attempt was saved.  Ebner was there to pounce on the rebound, and had her first attempt turned away as well before scoring on the second effort to push the Tribe to a 4-2 lead that would hold up over the final few minutes.

Johnson got credit for the win, her second of the year, and also had a career-high four saves between the pipes for W&M.  Sophomore Meredith Savage (Virginia Beach, Va.) came on in relief to play the final 26+ minutes, and made three stops of her own.  For the game, W&M outshot VCU 18-12, while penalty corners were even at seven for each team.

William and Mary hits the road next weekend for two games in Kentucky.  On Friday, Sept. 6, W&M will take on the Louisville Cardinals at 1 p.m., before facing the Ohio Bobcats at 1 p.m. on Saturday (also on Louisville's field).