The William and Mary field hockey team was edged in a tight road match at VCU on Friday night, falling 2-1 in the final non-conference match of the year. The Tribe is now 5-10 overall, while the Rams improved to 4-11 on the season.
Box ScoreW&M held a 14-5 advantage in shots in the game, but the first half was almost scoreless. The Tribe finally broke through to take a 1-0 lead on a shot by junior
Pippin Saunders (Mittagong, NSW) to start the 34th minute. It was Saunders' team-leading eighth goal of the season, matching her career-high set as a freshman in 2011.
The second half was shaping up in a similar fashion, up until the 63rd minute. Playing with a player advantage after the Tribe was issued a yellow card, VCU scored to tie the match at 1-1. Then, with just 48 seconds left, they scored again to go up 2-1. The Tribe had two more good shots and a penalty corner in the final 16 seconds of regulation, but both tries slide just wide of the cage and the Rams escaped with the lucky win.
William and Mary returns home on Sunday, hosting Drexel at 12 p.m. It is the final match of the season at Busch Field, and the Tribe will take a brief moment before the line-ups are introduced to honor its eight-player senior class.
