WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Freshman
Emma MacLeod scored twice and senior
Emma Clifton equaled the Tribe school record for assists as the William and Mary field hockey team controlled every facet of play in downing Towson 4-0 in the CAA opener on Friday night. Junior
Pippin Saunders and Clifton, who picked up her record-tying 21st career assist, also added goals for the Tribe, who shutout its second straight opponent. The Green and Gold pushed its win streak to three matches, improving to 4-7 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Tigers fell to 2-7.
W&M wasted little time setting the tone for the night with a shot on frame just 38 seconds into the match. Under two minutes later, the Tribe took a lead in would not relinquish on Saunders' fifth goal of the year. Redshirt senior
Navneet Singh darted a pass to Saunders on the right side of the area, and she unleashed a shot into the top netting of the goal. It was the 20th tally in Saunders' career.
The Tribe just missed a chance to extend its lead in the 30th minute. Clifton fed a racing Saunders toward the left end line. Saunders pushed her shot past the Tiger goalkeeper, but Towson's Heather Jenney cleared it off of the goal line for a defensive save.
W&M led in every statistical category in the first half, including outshooting the Tigers, 17-2. Eight different Tribe players fired a shot in the first half, including three players that outshot the entire Towson team in the half.
Much like the first half, W&M wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the second. Clifton cruised into the circle from 25 yards out with a full head of steam and unleashed a rocket that found the top left corner of the cage. Her second marker of the season moved the Green and Gold's lead to 2-0 in the 39th minute.
W&M added its third goal in the 47th minute. Clifton drove down the middle of the field into the area and dished a pass to her left. With a full-out, head-first drive, MacLeod got a stick to the pass, deflecting off the goalkeeper's pads and into the boards to extend the Tribe advantage to 3-0. The assist was the 21st of Clifton's career, which moved her into a tie for the Tribe's school record with Victoria Saunders, who played at W&M from 1994-97.
W&M added the exclamation point just before the end of regulation in the 70th minute. Sophomore
Mary Flick dished a pass from the right side of the field that found MacLeod in the middle of the circle. The Tribe rookie uncorked a shot into the right side of the boards for the final 4-0 margin. It marked MacLeod's second goal of the game and third of the season.
Offensively, the Tribe dominated the stat sheet, outshooting the Tigers, 38-2. The 38 shots were the eighth most in program history. In total, the Green and Gold put 24 shots on a goal and added a season-high 11 penalty corners. Seven Tribe players equaled or bettered the Tigers' total of two shots in the match.
Junior goalkeeper
Meredith Savage recorded a pair of saves in the first half on the way to her second straight shutout. Savage and company has not allowed a goal in the last 143 minutes of action. Towson's goalkeeper duo of Megan Boyle and Emilee Woodall recorded a total of 19 saves, while playing a half apiece. Boyle made six stops in the opening half, while Woodall had an impressive 13 in the second 35 minutes.
The Tribe continues its CAA opening weekend when it welcomes Delaware to Busch Field on Sunday. The match between the Tribe and Blue Hens starts at noon.
