The William & Mary field hockey team will get its spring 2021 season underway this weekend, traveling to face ancient rivals James Madison on Friday, March 19, in a 5 p.m. match-up.  The game can be streamed live on FloSports, and live stats will also be available through both JMUSports.com and TribeAthletics.com.  James Madison will not allow general public attendance at the game, only a limited team pass list.

Live Stats
Watch on Flo (subscription required)

Scouting the Tribe
W&M went 12-7 in 2019 and 5-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association, making the semifinals of the conference tournament.  The Tribe returns 16 veterans from that squad, including all-region juniors Kimi Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Cara Menges (Richmond, Va.), as well as three more All-CAA veterans in senior Melanie Strik (Den Haag, The Netherlands), Jorja Morgan (Wakerley, QLD, Australia), and Sally Snead (Midlothian, Va.).  W&M also adds seven newcomers to the squad this spring, including a transfer from Boston College in sophomore Lauren Curran (Media, Pa.) and the 2019 Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year in freshman Maddie McGaughey (Vienna, Va.).

Scouting the Dukes
James Madison also made the CAA Tournament last year, finishing the year at 8-11 overall and 3-3 in league play.  The Dukes return four all-conference players from that team, including senior Rachel Yeager, a second-team All-CAA choice in 2019 after earning first-team honors in 2018.  Yeager is the top returning scorer with three goals and five assists a year ago, while Kylie LeBlanc is the most experienced goalkeeper with a 2.88 GAA and 31 saves in almost 400 minutes.

The Series
This will be the 83rd meeting all-time between the Tribe and the Dukes, dating back to 1930.  JMU leads the series 43-29-10, but W&M has won the last three in a row, including 5-2 last season in Williamsburg.  Each of the last three games in Harrisonburg have gone to overtime, 4-3 wins for W&M in both 2014 and 2016 and 5-4 for the Tribe in 2018.

News and Notes
- Elected as captains for this season were Menges (for the second time) and senior Ella Donahue (Midlothian, Va.).  Senior Haley Hopkins (Springfield, Va.) and Morgan were chosen as vice-captains.

- Hopkins led the Tribe with four game-winning goals in 2019, tied for 11th-most all-time.

- Jones ranks eighth all-time in career wins at W&M, with 22 in her first two years.

- Menges ranks eighth in school history with 0.26 assists per game, and fourth all-time with 1.26 shots on goal per game.

- 11 players from W&M were named to the NFHCA All-Academic Squad on Thursday, the third year in a row the Tribe has had 10+ honorees.  To qualify, athletes had to have over a 3.3 GPA through the fall semester.

- The 2021 spring season will only encompass CAA games, with the top four teams advancing to the CAA Tournament April 22-24 at the University of Delaware.

- Attendance at home games is NOT open to the general public.  The field hockey team is allowed a limited number of entries on a pass list for the athletes, and then any extra capacity up to the state of Virginia's limit of 30% of listed capacity can be filled by W&M students with campus-issued ID cards.