WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Caroline Monahan scored over the top of American goalkeeper Julia Kota in the 78th minute to lift William & Mary women's soccer to a 2-1 road win in the 2021 season opener.
 
Monahan's goal came just two and half minutes after American knotted the match at one. Following a throw-in on the right flank, the Tribe played the ball back to senior Addie Puskar. She lofted a cross toward the back side of the 18 that reached Monahan despite of deflection off the head of an Eagle defender. Monahan collected and caught Kota on the wrong foot, finishing to the upper left corner of the frame for the winner.
 
The Tribe opened the scoring in the 29th minute on a Kayleigh Shackford penalty kick. The sophomore duo of Ginny Delacruz and Elaina Longjohn set up the play that resulted in the chance. Delacruz gained spaced down the right flank and played a nice square ball to Longjohn, who was tackled from behind resulting in the spot kick. Shackford calmly converted the PK for her second career goal.
 
Kato came up with a pair of big saves for American to keep the Tribe lead at just 1-0 in the second half. She pushed a Shackford volley from 10 yards out in the 69th minute wide of the goal and stoned a Hannah Potter 1-on-1 shot from the right side of the box in the 73rd.
 
The Eagles broke through off a corner kick in the 76th minute. The service deflected off the head of an Eagle player and into the middle of the 18-yard box. Alysa Vazquez won a foot race to the ball and flipped it just over the outstretched arms of Grace Lemley to knot the score at one.
 
Less than a minute later, the Tribe nearly found the winner as Shackford played a square ball to freshman Gabriella Kurtas. Her shot to the lower right side of the frame beat Kato, but an American defender made a sliding attempt to clear the chance off the line.
 
Summary
29' | W&M – Kayleigh Shackford (Penalty Kick)
76' | American – Alysa Vazquez (Ashley Molz/Emily Smith)
78' | W&M – Caroline Monahan (Addie Puskar)
 
W&M Starters - #1 Lemley (GK), #2 Potter, #7 Puskar, #10 Shackford, #11 Monahan, #13 Kohler, #14 O'Toole, #15 Geslao, #18 Zier, #20 Friesen, #23 Frantz
American Starters - #0 Kato (GK), #4 Molz, #6 O. Mahony, #11 Jordan, #12 Horne, #14 Steel, #15  Capraro, #16 Dillon, #17 Smith, #20 Vazquez, #24 J. Mahony
 
Quotable
"With our lone exhibition game being canceled, it was challenging jumping into our first game without a test run. But we were pleased with our ball movement and ability to dictate play as much as we did. We definitely left some chances on the field around the goal but are still working things out with a lot of new players. It was encouraging to see a combination of veterans and newcomers contributing to the win." - Head Coach Julie Shackford

Inside the Numbers
- W&M had a 15-6 advantage in shots, including a 6-3 cushion in shots on goal.
- American had four corner kicks compared to two for W&M.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Grace Lemley finished with two saves in goal for W&M, while Kato had four for American.
- Senior Caroline Monahan led all players with five shots on the day.
 
Notes
Senior Caroline Monahan scored her second career goal and first career game-winner … Senior Addie Puskar, who started along the back line for the Green and Gold, recorded her first career assist on the game-winner …  Junior Kayleigh Shackford scored her second career goal and her first from the penalty spot … The penalty kick was the first for W&M in nearly three years … The last Tribe PK came off the foot of Sarah Segan in a 2-0 win over Coastal Carolina on Aug. 26, 2018 … Four Tribe players made their first career starts against American, including senior Hannah Potter, junior Sophie Geslao, sophomore Kenna Zier and freshman Riley Friesen.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action when it travels to ACC foe Virginia Tech on Sunday, Aug. 22, at 4 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.