The William & Mary field hockey team stood toe-to-toe with No. 4-ranked Duke on Friday night in Durham, and gave almost as good as they got before falling 8-4.  The Tribe moves to 0-1 to start the year, with the Blue Devils improve to 1-0.

The final score was a bit deceptive, as the Tribe had the better go in the second half, outscoring the Blue Devils 3-2 after the break and holding a decisive 4-1 advantage in corners over the last 35 minutes.  Junior Booter Ellis (Delmar, Del.) was all over the field on the night, with a hand in a pair of Tribe goals.  In the 12th minute, W&M drew a corner and Cammie Lloyd (Midlothian, Va.) took the first crack which was saved.  The rebound fell to Ellis, and she skipped it over the goalie's pads for the tally.  Then right after the intermission on another corner, the midfielder found freshman Cata Days (Buenos Aires, Argentina) streaking in at the near post, and the rookie converted the opportunity for her first collegiate goal.

W&M kept the pressure on as the second half was still young, with senior captain Maria Jose Pastor (Burke, Va.) stealing the ball inside the circle and weaving her way across the front of the goalmouth to strike a rocket inside the far boards in the 39th minute.  After Duke pulled back out to a 7-3 lead, Lloyd made her first mark of the season, firing past the keeper from the left side for the Tribe's fourth goal of the game.  That was how it would stay for the Green and Gold, while Duke added an insurance goal with just over 11 minutes to go.

Also playing strongly in her first collegiate action was freshman goalkeeper Morgan Connor (Bedford, N.Y.), who made 11 saves against a top-ranked squad that was returning its 11-leading scorers.  That's the most saves in a single game for a Tribe goalkeeper since the 2014 season opener.  For the game, W&M had an 11-5 advantage in saves over Duke.

William & Mary is back in action next weekend, taking on a pair.  On Friday, Sept. 2, the Tribe travels to face American, before returning home on Sunday, Sept. 4, for the home-opener against Rutgers.