The William & Mary field hockey team showed tremendous resilience on Friday night in its first conference road game, downing Drexel 3-2 for its fifth-straight win. The Tribe improved to 8-5 overall, and remained atop the Colonial Athletic Association at 3-0. The Dragons meanwhile fell to 3-10 (1-2 CAA).
How it Happened
- It was a game of runs and streaks, testing not just W&M's skills but its mental toughness to handle the constantly changing momentum.
- Drexel came out firing right out of the gates taking the first five shots of the contest, all in the first five minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper
Kimi Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) and the Tribe defense held strong, however with Jones saving the only shot on-target, and the rest of the attempts being forced wide or blocked away by the defense.
- After weathering the initial storm, W&M began controlling the pace more and forced its way downfield to start its own assault on the goal.
- At the end of the eighth minute, W&M was able to draw back-to-back penalty corners, scoring on the second. Senior captain
Christie van de Kamp (Midlothian, Va.) took the initial shot from up top that was saved, but the rebound fell in the middle of several players and was uncontrolled for several crucial seconds. Senior
Cassidy Goodwin (Gloucester, Va.) eventually wrested control, and her put-back shot found the back of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
- Just under 90 seconds later, W&M struck again, once again after a brace of penalty corners. Just like before, van de Kamp took the shot from the top of the circle, and this time Goodwin was the first player to the ball, tipping it past the goalkeeper and the onrushing defense for her second goal of the night and the 2-0 lead.
- The second quarter was just as hard-fought, but more between the circles than in them. W&M held the edge in shots, 3-2, and corners, 2-1, but neither team was able to add to their scores. Jones picked up her second save on the only shot that reached either keeper.
- The third quarter this season has typically belonged the Tribe, and W&M again led the shot-count, 5-3. On this night, however, it was Drexel who made the most of the quarter tying the match at 2-2.
- The Dragons first score came early in the 36th minute, off a penalty corner as Tess Horan scored her first goal of the year after lurking on the backside of the play.
- Drexel continue to play hard, and drew back-to-back corners in the 42nd minute. On the second, Avery Powell scored on the rebound from the initial shot, and the match was tied.
- It seemed like all the momentum was with the home team as the fourth quarter approached, but W&M quickly put paid to that notion, scoring to retake the lead just 20 seconds into the quarter.
- Senior
Woodard Hooper (Williamsburg, Va.) drove the opening possession into the circle, and as she attacked the goal, the referee called Drexel for impeding and awarded the Tribe a penalty stroke.
- The senior captain van de Kamp stepped to the spot for the fourth time this season, and for the fourth time, buried the ball in the back of the cage.
- The quick reversal put Drexel on the back-foot, and W&M kept up the pressure, generating several more attacks into the circle and another penalty corner but couldn't convert for another score.
- The Dragons had one more push in the final three minutes, pulling their goalkeeper for an extra attacker and also taking advantage of a yellow card issued to the Tribe for the two-player advantage, but the defense led by van de Kamp and Goodwin constructed a solid shell, and turned away every attempt to enter the circle until the final horn sounded.
Starters
W&M -
Kimi Jones,
Haley Hopkins,
Annie Snead,
Ella Donahue,
Tabby Billingham,
Christie van de Kamp,
Cara Menges,
Woodard Hooper,
Cassidy Goodwin,
Jorja Morgan,
Ashley Drum
Drexel - Megan Hadfield, Tess Horan, Amber Brouwer, Isabel Jacobs, Katie Bagdon, Cailey Lever, Puk Thewessen, Tess Bernheimer, Emily Owens, Avery Powell, Chandler McFeeley
Notes
W&M's fifth win in a row is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation ... Goodwin tied her career high with two goals ... Her two goals also gave her a career-best five on the season ... Van de Kamp's assist was the 18th of her career, moving her into a tie for eighth all-time ... Van de Kamp is now a perfect 4-for-4 in penalty strokes this season, leading not just all players but also all teams in the NCAA ... She is tied for second all-time in strokes made in a season at W&M, behind only
Saskia Bensdorp '98 who had seven in 1995 ... The goalkeeper Jones picked up her eighth win of the season, and 18th of her career to move into 10th all-time at W&M ... She played the first half and the fourth quarter, making two saves and allowing no goals ... Jones is currently riding a season-long shutout streak of 110:36, dating back to the first quarter of the match against Hofstra ... W&M is 3-0 to start conference play for the third season in a row, and just the fifth time in the program's 36-year history of conference membership ... The Tribe has now won six in a row against CAA opponents dating back to last season, the seventh winning streak of 6+ games ... It's the longest streak since going 7-0 to win the regular season title in 2004.
Up Next
William & Mary continues on the road on Sunday, Oct. 20, traveling to Easton, Pa., to take on Patriot League leader Lafayette at 12 p.m. The game can be watched online for free through the Lafayette Sports Network, with the link available at TribeAthletics.com.
