The William & Mary field hockey team found a way to win yet again, coming back from a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter Sunday to beat Patriot League-leader Lafayette, 3-2 in overtime. The Tribe improved to 9-5 on the year with its sixth-straight win, while the Leopards had their own six-game streak snapped while falling to 9-6 overall.
How it Happened
- Playing in cold and rainy conditions that not even a duck could love, both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half. W&M out-shot Lafayette 5-1 in the first 30 minutes, with junior
Haley Hopkins (Springfield, Va.) leading the charge with all five shots, but at the horn, the score was still 0-0.
- In the third quarter, the host team jumped out ahead, scoring out of penalty corners with their only two shot attempts of the second half. In the 33rd minute, Lisa van der Geest got a tip-in from Audrey Sawers, and then in the 45th, van der Geest provided the set-up for Anna Steps to score, putting W&M in a 2-0 hole for the first time since the game against No. 1 North Carolina a month ago.
- The Tribe has proven itself nothing if not composed and resilient over the course of the season, and just like on Friday, began working the offense in the fourth quarter.
- In the 48th minute, that work paid off with back-to-back penalty corners. On the second, senior captain
Christie van de Kamp (Midlothian, Va.) took her shot from the initial set-up at the top of the circle, and found her classmate
Cassidy Goodwin (Gloucester, Va.) for the finishing touch and the score to cut the lead in half.
- At the start of the 58th minute, the W&M offense put too much pressure on the Lafayette goalkeeper, and she broke again to tie the game 2-2. In a flurry of an attack, freshmen
Lily Saunders (Mount Joy, Pa.) and
Grace Cornbrooks (Virginia Beach, Va.) each had shots turned away, but the rebound from Cornbrooks found its way to the stick of senior
Cata Days (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and she would not be denied, scoring her first goal of the season to tie the match and send it overtime.
- W&M was playing in just its second overtime of the year, compared to the seventh for Lafayette, but the Tribe remembered the lessons of 2018's NCAA-record nine overtime contests well. Just two minutes into the 7v7 extra period, the senior Goodwin again found herself with the ball and the momentum. Her first shot was saved by Lafayette's Sarah Park, her ninth save of the game, but the rebound ame right back to Goodwin and she was able to score on her second attempt to end the game and claim the victory.
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
LC - Sarah Park, Molly McAndrew, Sam Di Maio, Sydney Woolston, Cameron Costello, Jenn DeLongis, Audrey Sawers, Lisa van der Geest, Caroline Turnbull, Grace Angelella, Anna Steps
Notes
W&M outshot Lafayette 18-3 in the contest, holding the Leopards to their season-low in shots ... It was the second time in the last three games that the Tribe has allowed just three or fewer shots ... W&M is now 24-10 (.706) since the start of the 2017 season in games decided by one or two goals ... The Tribe is 13-7 (.650) in one-goal contests over that span ... W&M's six-game winning streak is the 13th in school history of at least six games, and the 16th unbeaten streak of six games or longer ... Cornbrooks picked up her second career assist, and the second of her last calendar week ... Goodwin now leads the Tribe with a career-high seven goals this season ... Van de Kamp picked up her 19th career assist to stand tied for sixth all-time at W&M ... She also made her 70th career start Sunday, becoming just the 10th player in school history to start at least 70 games ... Sophomore goalkeeper
Kimi Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) played every minute in goal to earn her 19th career win, moving into a tie for eighth all-time ... She is just one win away from becoming the sixth goalkeeper in school history with multiple 10-win seasons ... The Tribe is one of just six teams in the country who have an active winning streak of six or more games.
Up Next
William & Mary returns home next weekend to close out its home schedule at Busch Field. The Tribe will host No. 5 Louisville on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m., before hosting Northeastern on Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.
