The William & Mary field hockey team put up a strong defensive effort in blustery conditions Thursday at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, but fell to Delaware 1-0 on a goal in the final five minutes.  The Tribe moves to 3-2 on the year, while the Blue Hens improved to 5-3 and advanced to their eighth-straight conference championship game.

W&M had the first initial burst of offensive action in the game, earning a corner less than 30 seconds into the contest, but it was Delaware that controlled possession for the most part in the first half, with an 8-4 shot advantage and 5-2 lead on corners in the first 30 minutes.  Junior goalkeeper Kimi Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) stood tall, stood on her head, and went diving after every attempt, keeping the goalmouth pristine through all of it and ending the half with a season-high seven saves.

The Tribe's best chance came perhaps in the 10th minute, as senior vice-captain Haley Hopkins (Springfield, Va.) poked the ball free from a Delaware attacker around midfield and found classmate Ashley Drum (Virginia Beach, Va.) streaking towards the goal.  Drum received the pass well and cracked off a shot as the Delaware keeper was rushing in, but the Blue Hens got just the outer edge of a leg-pad to the shot and directed it just wide of the goal.  On the restart, freshman Maddie McGaughey (Vienna, Va.) got off another attempt at it, but this one ran wide as well.

In the second half, the Tribe was much more dominant with possession through the midfield, with Hopkins continuing to stick her nose in all over the field and first-team All-CAA junior Cara Menges (Richmond, Va.) and second-team sophomore Sally Snead (Midlothian, Va.) also began poking holes in the Blue Hens defensive set to try and find Drum, Lily Saunders (Mount Joy, Pa.), and Melanie Strik (Den Haag, The Netherlands) for more breakaway chances.  Freshman Maddie George (Virginia Beach, Va.) came on in relief of Jones, and right at the end of the period made a diving kick save to deny Delaware's All-American Femke Strien.

The fourth quarter shaped up very much the same with play flowing back and forth between the circles, but neither team able to break through very often at all.  George made two more saves as the time began to creep under 10 minutes remaining, and then in 56th minute, the Blue Hens finally broke through on their sixth corner of the evening.  Strien's shot from the top was tipped up and over George by Grace Hoepfner, and Delaware led 1-0.  William & Mary turned up the intensity to try and earn an equalizer and perhaps force overtime, and despite playing down a player due to a card, Drum was able to earn a corner with 48 seconds left.  Both Strik and sophomore Lauren Curran (Media, Pa.) got off solid strikes, but Delaware's Lizzie Gaebel was able to stop both and the Blue Hens were able to clear the ball away until the final horn.

William & Mary will have to await word from the NCAA Selection Committee to find out if the Tribe will appear in the national tournament for the second time in three years.  W&M ranked No. 13 in the latest RPI, and the committee will pick three at-large teams to make the field in addition to nine automatic bids.  The NCAA Selections will be announced on Saturday night, April 24, at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Starters
W&M - Kimi Jones, Audrey Domovich, Sally Snead, Grace Cornbrooks, Haley Hopkins, Melanie Strik, Ella Donahue, Tabby Billingham, Cara Menges, Ashley Drum, Lauren Curran
UD - Lizzie Gaebel, Grace Miller, Martina Carrazzoni, Emma Gladstein, Berber Bakermans, Emily Kresho, Ellie Schepens, Julia Duffhuis, Grace Hoepfner, Ashlyn Carr, Femke Strien

Notes
Kimi Jones extended her personal shutout streak to 146:07 ... Jones' .773 save percentage (17 saves on 22 shots) is a career high for a season ... Maddie George, appearing for the third time this year, made her first three career saves ... Due to CoVID-19 protocols, weather cancellations, and the like, W&M only played in five games this season, its fewest since the 1959 season also had five contests (the Tribe went 2-1-2) ... W&M's team save percentage of .778 is 17th all-time, and the best since the 2002 NCAA-qualifying team had an .812 save percentage ... The Tribe's 1.20 GAA is also #17 all-time, and the best since 2001 had a paltry 1.09 GAA ... When including only season in the AIAW/NCAA era, this season ranks eighth in GAA ... Jones' 1.43 GAA this season is 17th-best all-time, and the best since Stacey Gaenzle had a 1.38 GAA in 2003 ... Her .773 save percentage is also the best since Gaenzle in 2003 (.781).