The William & Mary field hockey team came up against a game Fairfield squad on Friday afternoon, falling 3-2 on the road in the final non-conference match of the season.  The Tribe moved to 8-9 on the year after the match, while the Stags improved to 6-12 overall.

While the Tribe was its customarily efficient self on offense, out-shooting the Stags 13-9 and holding a 6-2 edge in penalty corners, the Fairfield goalkeeper turned in her best performance of the year to keep her team in front.  The home team was up 1-0 after the first half and 2-0 early in the second, but W&M quickly equalized with a pair of goals unanswered.  In the 51st minute, a penalty corner found junior Booter Ellis (Delmar, Del.), who quickly passed over to senior captain Maria Jose Pastor (Burke, Va.) who scored her fourth of the season.  Four minutes later, sophomore Ashleigh Nottingham (Norfolk, Va.) found Estelle Hughes (Newcastle, NSW) at the top of the circle, and the Australian powered home her fifth goal of the year to knot the score 2-2.  It stayed there until the 65th minute, when Fairfield went ahead again off a penalty corner, and despite three penalty corners in the final 90 seconds, W&M was unable to force overtime before the final horn sounded.  Freshman Morgan Connor (Bedford, N.Y.) made four saves in goal, bringing her season total to 82 stops.

William & Mary finishes up the regular season on Sunday, playing at Colonial Athletic Association-rival Hofstra at 12 p.m.  With JMU's win over the Pride on Friday afternoon, W&M is guaranteed to be seeded no lower than second in the CAA Tournament, Nov. 4-6 either in Williamsburg or Newark, Del.