WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 26, 2014)—The William and Mary lacrosse team closed out its season with a 16-11 victory against Old Dominion on Senior Day at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Saturday afternoon.
The victory helped W&M earn 10 more points in the Optima Health Challenge, which is a yearlong competition between the Tribe (4-12, 1-4) and ODU (3-13), as the College claimed this year's trophy, 60-35.
A quartet of W&M players posted outstanding performances in their final game as members of the Tribe, as Taelor Salmon (5g, 2a), Alexi Farmakis (2g, 3a), Bridget Brown (3g, 1a) and Jenna Dougherty (3g) all came up big offensively. Farmakis' stat line also included a career-high five draw controls.
Junior Ellen Shaffrey also registered a memorable performance, as her career-high seven draw controls helped her break the single-season school record (54) in the statistical category. The Charlottesville, Va., native also contributed a team-high four ground balls.
As a team, W&M owned a commanding 20-9 advantage in draw controls and a 22-21 edge in ground balls. Additionally, the College outshot ODU, 37-24.
The Tribe quickly took control of the contest as it built a 6-1 advantage midway through the opening half. Dougherty provided the first three goals in the first 3:08, while Brown scored twice and Salmon added one goal.
Although Salmon's second score with 0:30 showing on the first half clock was W&M's only other goal of the opening stanza, the College held a 7-3 lead at halftime.
The Tribe won nine of the 11 draw controls in the first half and owned an 11-6 advantage in ground balls in the opening 30 minutes.
Back-to-back goals by ODU's Emily Austerberry narrowed the margin to 8-5 with 21:43 remaining, but W&M answered with a pivotal 5-1 run that extended the lead to 13-6 with 12:40 to play.
The teams traded goals three times down the stretch, but the Lady Monarchs were never able to get closer than the final margin.
Austerberry led ODU with four points (3g, 1a), while Jessica Liberty added two goals.
