WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Less than 48 hours removed from opening its conference slate with a thrilling shootout victory against Hofstra, the William & Mary field hockey team improved to 2-0 in conference play with an exciting 4-3 victory against Northeastern on Sunday afternoon at Busch Field. 
 
The Tribe (2-6, 2-0 CAA) posted its best offensive performance of the season, as four different players found the back of the cage – freshman Pyper Friedman (10'), junior Lily Saunders (24'), junior Lauren Curran (30') and junior Ireland Miller ('33).
 
After trading a pair of goals during the first half, W&M secured the lead for good when Curran finished off a penalty corner with a second remaining in the second period. Curran posted the game-winner, her fourth goal of the season, on the left side after a perfectly placed feed from junior Grace Cornbrooks.
 
Miller increased the margin to 4-2 with her first career goal on a penalty stroke in the 33rd minute, as she fired a shot into the right side of the boards past NU goalie Julia Gluyas. Off a penalty corner, the Tribe earned a corner after a Northeastern defender dropped to a knee to stop the ball from crossing the goal line.  
 
The Huskies (3-8, 0-2) narrowed the margin to one with a goal by Angela Connolly on a penalty corner in the 51st minute, but W&M limited NU to just two shots, both wide of the target, in the closing minutes to earn the conference win.
 
Pyper Friedman's first career goal, coming in the 10th minute, gave W&M the early lead. The score came after junior Audrey Domovich's shot off a penalty corner was saved by NU's Erin Savage on the left side, where Friedman corralled the rebound and punched it home.
 
Although NU even the count at 1-1 in the 17th minute with a goal by Lauren Rowe, W&M retook command when Saunders found the back of the goal in the 24th minute. The score came when Saunders secured a rebounded shot by Curran on the right side that was saved by Savage and finished from a serve angle on the right side.
 
W&M Starters - #1 George (GK), #3 Domovich, #4 Saunders, #5 Snead, #6 Cornbrooks, #8 Friedman, #9 McGaughey, #12 Moon, #14 Billingham, #20 Menges, #33 Curran
 
NU Starters – #0 Savage (GK), #2 Connolly, #5 Dunleavy, #6 Taylor, #7 Coyle, #13 Rowe, #14 Sweeney, #18 Hart, #19 Graves, #23 Smith, #24 Kelso
 
Scoring Summary
10' | W&M – Pyper Friedman
17' | Northeastern – Lauren Rowe (Angela Connolly, Maliea Kelso)
24' | W&M – Lily Saunders
25' | Northeastern – Mak Graves (Kate Blaisdell)
30' | W&M – Lauren Curran (Grace Cornbrooks)
33' | W&M – Ireland Miller
51' | Angela Connolly (Lauren Rowe)
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M outshot Northeastern, 14-10, including a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal.
- W&M's 10 shots on goal were a season high.
- W&M held NU without a shot in the first quarter and owned a 9-3 advantage at halftime.
- Northeastern owned a narrow 5-4 edge in penalty corners.
- Curran totaled a team-high four shots, all four of which were on goal.
- Sophomore goalie Maddie George posted two saves.

Up Next
The Tribe returns to action with a pair of road contests next weekend, as it plays at Richmond on Friday (6 p.m.) and at Towson on Sunday (2 p.m.). Sunday's contest will be broadcast by FloLive.