The William & Mary field hockey team heads to Newark, Del., looking to reclaim the Colonial Athletic Association Championships for the second time in three years this week.  The Tribe will take on host and reigning champions Delaware on Thursday, April 22, at 4 p.m., for the right to advance to the championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m.  Both games will be broadcast live on FloSports, with Matt Janus and Missy Arenz on the call.

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Setting the Field
Following the completion of the regular season, a committee of athletics directors and Senior Women's Administrators met on Sunday night to establish the seeding for this year's CAA tournament, since not every school had played every other team.  The committee took into account head-to-head results, common opponents, and a poll of the league coaches, among other factors.  James Madison was awarded the No. 1 seed after going a perfect 5-0 against CAA teams, with William & Mary (3-1) second, Delaware (3-2) third, and Drexel (3-3) fourth.

Scouting the Tribe
W&M had its only game last weekend, at Northeastern, cancelled due to a nor'easter that snowed over the field on Friday.  The Tribe is 3-1 and winners of three in a row, the last two a pair of 2-0 shutouts over Towson and Delaware.  Senior Ashley Drum (Virginia Beach, Va.) is the leading scorer with a pair of goals, while senior captain Ella Donahue (Midlothian, Va.) and sophomore Lily Saunders (Mount Joy, Pa.) have a goal and an assist each.  On defense, sophomore Tabby Billingham (Dallinghoo, Suffolk, England) has a defensive save to lead the field players, and junior Kimi Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) is 2-1 with a 1.67 GAA and 10 saves on a .667 save percentage.

Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware swept its two matches last weekend to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the CAA.  Ashlyn Carr is the leading scorer with two goals and four assists, while freshman Julia Duffhuis is close behind with four goals for eight total points.  All-American Femke Strien is returning after missing the last two weeks, and had two goals and three assists on the year.  In goal, Lizzie Gaebel has a 1.40 GAA and 25 saves on a .714 save percentage.

Scouting the Dukes
James Madison was perfect in league play this year at 5-0, and 5-1 overall.  The Dukes outscored CAA opponents 14-2, including a 3-0 win over Northeastern last weekend to propel JMU into the national rankings at No. 20.  Eveline Zwager leads the team in scoring with five goals and an assist, while on defense, rookie goalkeeper Brandelynn Heinbaugh has a 1.17 GAA and 12 saves on a .632 save percentage.

Scouting the Dragons
Drexel is 5-5 on the year and 3-3 in the CAA, one of only two teams to play its full six-game conference schedule.  Freshman Eline Di Leva is the team's leading scorer with six goals and four assists, while Chandler McFeeey had two goals and three assists.  On defense, Megan Hadfield started every game in goal, and has a 1.96 GAA and 47 saves on a .712 save percentage.

The Series
- W&M is 10-18 overall against Delaware, after winning the regular season match-up 2-0 over the then-No. 20 Blue Hens.  The two teams last met in the CAA Tournament in the 2018 championship game, a 3-2 overtime win for the Tribe, but Delaware holds a commanding 5-2 edge in post-season games.

- JMU is one of W&M's longest-standing rivals, with the Dukes leading the series 44-29-10 dating back to 1930.  In the season opener, James Madison defeated the Tribe 4-0, ending a string of three-straight wins for W&M including the 2017 CAA Semifinals.  In the conference tournament, JMU leads the series 10-4.

- W&M leads the series with Drexel 13-8, including earlier this season 2-1 in Williamsburg.  That crowns a string of five-straight wins and six in the last seven for the Tribe, after the Dragons won seven in a row from 2007-13.  The two teams have never met in the CAA Tournament.

News and Notes
- There is no general public attendance for the CAA Championships at Delaware.  Each team has been allowed a limited number of friends and family spots on a pass list.

- Every game of the tournament will be broadcast live on FloSports.  To sign up for Flo, head to the FloSports.tv/CAA homepage.

- W&M went 3-0 at Busch Field this spring, the first unbeaten season at home since the 1980 squad went 5-0-1.  The last time the Tribe went undefeated at home was the year before that, 1979, when the Green and Gold was 9-0 in Williamsburg.

- The win over Delaware snapped several long streaks.  It was the Tribe's first regular-season win over the Blue Hens since 2012, and the first regular-season loss for Delaware since 2015 (a streak of 26-straight wins).  Since their last regular-season loss to a CAA team that season, the Blue Hens had won 34 of 35 games against CAA teams, with the only loss coming at the hands of W&M in the 2018 CAA Championship game.

- This is the third-straight season and fourth of the last five that the Tribe had only lost a single conference game in the regular season.  That matches the program-record stretch from 2000-04 where W&M put up similar numbers (one conference loss in 2000, two in 2001, one each in 2002 and 2003, and undefeated in 2004).

- Both of senior Ashley Drum's goals this season have been game-winners, against Drexel and Delaware.

- The W&M defense led by Jones and Billingham have been stingy this year, allowing just 3 corners per game, best in the CAA, and its 1.25 GAA is second in the league.  The Tribe also ranks second in shots on-goal allowed per game (4.0, the best mark in school history), and third in total shots allowed per game (9.75).

- W&M ranks No. 13 in the latest NCAA RPI, its best mark since also ranking No. 13 in the first RPI of the 2017 season.  The highest the Tribe has ever finished a season (in the NCAA's archives, which date to 2001) was the 2002 season, when W&M finished the year No. 14.

- Kimi Jones was named the CAA Player of the Week on April 13, after recording six saves and allowing no goals in a pair of shutout wins over Towson and Delaware.

- Freshman Jayden Moon (Spotsylvania, Va.) was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on March 30, after scoring an assist in the win over Drexel.

- Elected as captains for this season were Cara Menges (Richmond, Va.) (for the second time) and Donahue.  Senior Haley Hopkins (Springfield, Va.) and junior Jorja Morgan (Wakerley, QLD, Australia) were chosen as vice-captains.

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

- Junior Kimi Jones ranks seventh all-time in career wins at W&M, with 24 in her first three years.

- 11 players from W&M were named to the NFHCA All-Academic Squad, 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.

- Three players - Jones, Moon, and Billingham - were all named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction for having a GPA over 3.9.