The William & Mary field hockey team released its 2019 schedule today, a balanced 18-match slate building up towards the post-season. The Tribe won its first Colonial Athletic Association Championship last fall, and is faced with a schedule that will put W&M in a strong position to contend for the title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. W&M will have nine home games in the regular season, and will face three teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago including the defending national champions.
"We're extremely excited to challenge this team again with a top-20 schedule," said W&M head coach
Tess Ellis. "With a competitive schedule that includes teams like Duke and Louisville, and taking on NCAA Champions North Carolina in a televised game, we believe we'll lay a solid foundation to challenge this team to reach higher levels this year. I look forward to returning to the CAA Championship game, and setting a course for the NCAA Championships."
After the team reports to camp in early August, W&M will once again host a pair of scrimmages at Busch Field later in the month in the build-up towards the regular season. The Tribe will host the local co-ed team on Sunday, August 18, at 10 AM, before taking on the Cavaliers of Virginia on Saturday, August 24, at 3 PM. Last year, W&M and UVA faced off in an instant classic, battling into double-overtime on a cold and rainy October night before the 20th-ranked Cavaliers scored to win 3-2.
Complete Schedule
The regular season begins, as has become customary, with W&M facing national power Duke at home on Sunday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils went 16-6 last year and reached the NCAA quarterfinals. This will be the fourth year in a row that the Tribe has begun the year against Duke, with the Blue Devils ranking fourth or better in every year.
The following weekend, Friday, Sept. 6, W&M heads down to Old Dominion for a 5 p.m. meeting. The last two meetings with the Lady Monarchs have been absolute thrillers, with the Tribe winning in Norfolk two years ago, 3-2, and ODU returning the favor in Williamsburg last fall, 4-3 in overtime. That Sunday, Sept. 8, W&M will return home to host Long Island at 11 a.m. in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Sharks (formerly the Blackbirds) were 2-15 a year ago, but the program is merging this year with Division II powerhouse LIU Post who has gone 97-26 (.789) over the last six years and reached four of the last six NCAA Division II Championship games.
The Tribe hits the road the following weekend, Sept. 13-15. On Friday, W&M heads up to Richmond to take on former conference rivals VCU at 3 p.m. The Rams went 12-7 a year ago in the Atlantic 10, and lost to W&M 4-2 in 2018. On Sunday, the Tribe heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face defending NCAA Champions North Carolina at 3 p.m. The Tar Heels went 23-0 last season, including a 4-0 win over the Tribe in the NCAA Round of 16.
The three-game road swing continues on Sunday, Sept. 22, as W&M heads up to New Hersey to take on Monmouth at 11 a.m. The two teams last met in the NCAA Opening Round at Busch Field last November, a 3-2 overtime triumph for the Tribe. Monmouth was 13-7 and won the MAAC Championship in 2018, but moves to the America East conference this year. One week later, on Sept. 29, the Tribe will take on another America East opponent, hosting Vermont at 11 a.m. at home. The Catamounts went 8-11 last year, and last played W&M back in 2010. That game kicks off a season-long five-game homestand for the Tribe, who next host Longwood at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Lancers went 9-7 in the MAC in 2018 and are one of W&M's oldest opponents, first playing the Tribe back in 1927. The Green and Gold have won the last 10 matches in the series (dating back to 1982), and will face Longwood for the first time since 2012.
Conference play begins on Friday, Oct. 4, with W&M hosting James Madison at 7 p.m. This will be the 82nd meeting all-time between the Tribe and the Dukes, second-most in school history, and W&M has won each of the last two games including 5-4 in overtime last year. Georgetown will visit Busch Field on Sunday, Oct. 6, for a 1 p.m. start. The Hoyas went 11-7 in the Big East a year ago, but haven't faced the Tribe since 2016, a 6-2 win for W&M. The homestand ends on Friday, Oct. 11, with W&M taking on CAA-foe Hofstra at 6 p.m. The Tribe won 1-0 on the road last year, its lowest scoring total in eight matches against conference opponents. That Sunday, Oct. 13, W&M will hit the road to face Davidson at 12 p.m. Last year's game against the Wildcats was cancelled due to a hurricane, but the teams have otherwise met every year since 2010 with W&M winning six of eight since then and 13 of 15 all-time.
Road matches continue the following weekend, with a swing through the state of Pennsylvania on Oct. 18-20. That Friday, W&M will be in Philadelphia to take on CAA rivals Drexel at 6 p.m. The Tribe won 2-1 in overtime in 2018, with captain
Christie van de Kamp (Midlothian, Va.) converting a penalty stroke in extra time for the third win in a row in the series. On Sunday, W&M will be in Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette at 12 p.m. The Leopards went 8-11 last year in the Patriot League, including a 4-1 setback at the sticks of the Tribe.
W&M returns home at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, to face its third and final ACC opponent of the year in Louisville. The Cardinals were 13-6 a year ago, but haven't faced W&M since 2014. Sunday, Oct. 27, will be Senior Day for the Tribe, hosting Northeastern at 1 p.m. Last season, W&M scored three straight goals for a come-from-behind, 3-2 overtime victory in the regular season, and then beat the Huskies again in the conference semifinals, 2-0.
The final weekend of the regular season will find W&M on the road to wrap up conference play. On Friday, Nov. 1, the Tribe will head to Newark, Del., to face conference rivals Delaware at 7 p.m. W&M beat the Blue Hens 3-2 in overtime in the CAA Championship game last year, ending both a 25-game winning streak against conference teams for Delaware as well as a five-year CAA title streak for the Blue Hens as well. The final game of the regular season will come on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. at Towson. The Tigers were 1-17 a year ago, including a 6-0 loss to W&M, but will be opening a new AstroTurf field this fall after playing on the football field for the last several seasons.
The CAA Tournament will once again take place in Newark, Del., this year, as the Blue Hens won the regular season last year and the accompanying right to host in 2019. The top four teams from the season will earn a spot in the CAA Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8, with the championship game coming on Sunday, Nov. 10. The NCAA Tournament begins with two opening round games on Wednesday, Nov. 13, before the top four national seeds each host a four-team pod on Friday and Sunday, Nov. 15-17. The NCAA semifinals and championship game are being hosted this year by Wake Forest University, and will take place on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, respectively.
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
2018 RECORD |
SERIES HISTORY |
LAST MEETING |
| Aug. 18 |
Scrimmage vs Co-Ed Team |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Aug. 24 |
Scrimmage vs Virginia |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Sept. 1 |
Duke |
16-6 |
Duke, 27-8-1 |
Duke, 4-0
(2018) |
| Sept. 6 |
at Old Dominion |
10-7 |
ODU, 51-20 |
ODU, 4-3 OT
(2018) |
| Sept. 8 |
Long Island |
2-15 |
First Meeting |
-- |
| Sept. 13 |
at VCU |
12-7 |
W&M, 55-10 |
W&M, 4-2
(2018) |
| Sept. 15 |
at North Carolina |
23-0 |
UNC, 25-3-2 |
UNC, 4-0
(2018) |
| Sept. 22 |
at Monmouth |
13-7 |
W&M, 3-0 |
W&M, 3-2 OT
(2018) |
| Sept. 29 |
Vermont |
8-11 |
Tied, 2-2 |
VT, 4-2
(2010) |
| Oct. 1 |
Longwood |
9-7 |
W&M, 24-17-4 |
W&M, 4-2
(2012) |
| Oct. 4 |
James Madison * |
6-12 |
JMU, 43-28-10 |
W&M, 5-4 OT
(2018) |
| Oct. 6 |
Georgetown |
11-7 |
W&M, 5-1 |
W&M, 6-2
(2016) |
| Oct. 11 |
Hofstra * |
5-13 |
W&M, 14-7 |
W&M, 1-0
(2018) |
| Oct. 13 |
at Davidson |
5-13 |
W&M, 13-2 |
W&M, 5-2
(2017) |
| Oct. 18 |
at Drexel * |
9-9 |
W&M, 11-8 |
W&M, 2-1 OT
(2018) |
| Oct. 20 |
at Lafayette |
8-11 |
W&M, 3-1 |
W&M, 4-1
(2018) |
| Oct. 24 |
Louisville |
13-6 |
LOU, 4-1 |
LOU, 4-3 OT
(2014) |
| Oct. 27 |
Northeastern * |
8-11 |
NU, 11-9 |
W&M, 2-0
(2018) |
| Nov. 1 |
at Delaware * |
13-7 |
UD, 17-9 |
W&M, 3-2 OT
(2018) |
| Nov. 3 |
at Towson * |
1-17 |
W&M, 25-3-1 |
W&M, 6-0
(2018) |
| Nov. 8-10 |
CAA Championships
(at Delaware) |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Nov. 13-24 |
NCAA Championships
(Final Four at Wake Forest) |
-- |
-- |
-- |
* CAA Match
