WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The No. 4-seeded William and Mary women's soccer team scored a pair of unanswered goals to pick up a 2-1 CAA Quarterfinal victory over the fifth-seeded Drexel Dragons on Sunday afternoon at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. Junior Leci Irvin and senior Emory Camper tallied the goals in the victory. With the win, the Tribe improves to 12-5-1, while the Dragons finish their season 7-9-2.
After the Tribe had controlled the majority of the first 12 minutes of play, Drexel was able to score the match's first goal on a counter-attack in the 12th minute. Wilhelmina Hauch-Fausboll headed a shot towards cage that was turned away by Tribe junior goalkeeper Caroline Casey. On the clearance attempt, Madison Dunn was able to stick her foot in and steal the ball away. Dunn settled the ball on her foot, and placed a shot into the lower left corner of the net. The tally gave the Dragons an early 1-0 lead.
The game remained back-and-forth until the 36th minute, when W&M just missed a chance to level the score. Junior Katie Johnston found some space at the top of the 18-yard box and sent a shot on frame that beat the Drexel goalkeeper. However, Drexel's Abbey Romano stepped in front and blocked the ball to safety for the Dragons.
W&M did find the equalizer before halftime with a goal in the 42nd minute. The Tribe had controlled the attack and built up its pressure on the right side of the pitch. Junior Meghan Musgrove dished a cross into the box that found the head of freshman Sami Grasso. Grasso played her header right to Irvin, who buried her header into the top right corner of the goal. Her third goal of the season tied the score at 1-1.
The match went to the break tied at a goal apiece, but the Tribe controlled the pace of play. The Green and Gold outshot the Dragons by a total of 8-3, including a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Both teams traded chances to open up the second stanza. W&M's came first, on a shot from Johnston that was turned away by Dragons' goalkeeper Kelsie Fye. Megan Hammaker had a shot for Drexel, but Casey was able to corral it for the Tribe.
W&M took the lead for good in the 67th minute when Camper scored the game-winner. Irvin started the play and dished a pass to junior Nicole Baxter in the left corner of the box. Baxter sent a pass to the top of the box that Irvin let slip past to Camper. Camper took one touch on the ball and launched it into the lower right corner of the cage. Her 10th goal of the season gave the Tribe a 2-1 advantage, and its first lead of the game.
Just three minutes later, Camper had a chance to put the exclamation point on the victory. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native stormed down the field and rocketed a shot off the hand of Fye and into the crossbar. The rebound was played to safety, and the score remained 2-1.
The Tribe was able to play out the final 20 minutes of the match, and secure the 2-1 victory. The College outshot the Dragons 16-8, including an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. Casey turned away five shots on the match. Offensively, Camper uncorked a match-high four shots for W&M.
With the win, the Tribe advances to the CAA Semifinals where they will take on host and top-seeded Northeastern on Friday, Nov. 7 in Boston. Kickoff for the match is set for approximately 6 p.m. The 2014 CAA Championship match, which will be televised regionally on the American Sports Network, is set for Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.
