RICHMOND, Va. – Redshirt freshman Sarah Segan scored in the 17th minute and redshirt junior goalkeeper Grace Smith made it standup behind a career-high 13 saves as the William & Mary women's soccer team topped in-state rival VCU in Richmond on Thursday night. With the win, the Tribe improves to 4-2, while the Rams drop to 2-3-1.
 
Both teams had dangerous looks in the early going, starting with the Tribe in the fourth minute. Junior Rachel Moore had the first look of the game when she was one-versus-one with the goalkeeper, but her shot was saved by Audrey Sanderson. The Tribe's other looks came from sophomore Mackenzie Kober and junior Haley Kent, but both shots went wide.
 
The Rams' two early chances both came from Megan Dell. Dell's first shot was a loft from outside of the box that had to be saved by a leaping Smith. The second shot from Dell came off of a corner kick, but it was blocked by junior Sami Grasso.
 
W&M jumped out to an early lead with a 17th minute tally. Kober sent a through ball by the Rams back-line to a racing Segan. Segan controlled the ball from the middle of the box, and fired a shot into the lower right corner of the goal. Her third goal of the season lifted W&M to an early 1-0 lead.
 
VCU turned up its pressure looking for the equalizer for an five-minute span following the tally. Susanna Friedrichs started the pressure with a shot wide in the 18th minute. Just a minute later, Julia Suarez missed high. The best look came in the 22nd minute, when Maddie Santo turned one on target, but again Smith was up for the challenge.
 
The Rams opened with the first three shots of the second half, all three of which were on frame. In the 46th Suarez put one on target, before Kelly Graves had a breakaway shot a minute later. Graves nearly struck again in the 52nd minute, but again Smith had the save.
 
W&M nearly doubled its lead in the 64th minute. Kober charged the box and sent a cross from the right side that trickled through all the way to the left side the penalty area. It eventually found the foot of Kent, but her shot was saved by Sanderson.
 
The Black and Gold had four consecutive corners in the span of the 69th and the 70th minutes. However, VCU was only able to muster a pair of shots on headers from Santo. The first was blocked away by senior Clara Logsdon, before Smith made the save on the second.
 
Despite the victory, VCU held 21-9 advantage in shots, and a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Rams also held an 11-4 margin in corner kick attempts.
 
Smith's night in goal was the best in recent memory for the Tribe. Her 13 saves were the most dating back to 2001, and just the fourth double digit save performance dating back to the same year.
 
W&M Tepper-Mackesy head women's soccer coach John Daly takes his first crack at 400 wins as the Tribe travels to UNC Greensboro on Sunday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.