The William & Mary field hockey team put together once of its strongest performances of the year on Sunday afternoon, falling just short of upsetting No. 15 Old Dominion, 2-1.  The Tribe moves to 1-4 on the year, while the Lady Monarchs improve to 4-1 overall.

The visitors took advantage of momentum in the first half, racking up a 9-2 advantage in shots and 5-0 edge in penalty corners, but the Tribe defense was up to the test.  The penalty-killing unit, especially, proved itself more than equal to the ODU offense, and refused the Lady Monarchs every time.  In the process, freshman goalkeeper Morgan Connor (Bedford, N.Y.) made three big saves (of her four total in the match), and junior Booter Ellis (Delmar, Del.) picked up her second defensive save of the season.  The first goal didn't come until almost right before half, when ODU was awarded a penalty stroke that they converted to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Coming out in the second half, the script was almost completely flipped, with W&M taking control of the run of play and generating more chances.  The Tribe took six shots to ODU's three in the final 35 minutes, despite still facing a 3-0 deficit in penalty corners awarded.  Junior Estelle Hughes (Newcastle, NSW) finally broke through for the Green and Gold with the equalizer in the 49th minute.  Her classmate Erin Menges (Richmond, Va.) dribbled into the circle and took a shot from high in the zone that was blocked, but the rebound came right back to her stick.  Menges' second offering went through the defense and found Hughes in behind the goalkeeper, and she redirected it into the boards for her first career score.  The game would remain tied until nine minutes to go, when ODU scored the eventual winner on a lucky flurry of shots.  Even then, the Tribe responded, taking two more shots on goal and pressing to get into the scoring circle as the final horn sounded.

William & Mary hits the road next weekend for a pair of matches, traveling up to Richmond on Friday, Sept. 16, before continuing on the face Davidson on Sunday, Sept. 18.