WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary field hockey jumped out to an early lead over No. 16-ranked Penn State, thanks to a pair of first-quarter goals on Sunday afternoon at Busch Field. The Nittany Lions (2-0), fresh off a 3-2 win at No. 8 Virginia to open the season, scored six unanswered goals to down the Tribe, 7-2.
 
W&M (0-1) opened the scoring just over three minutes into the contest on sophomore Mollie Schuma's first collegiate goal. On the play, junior Lily Saunders carried the ball to the left endline and centered a pass that classmate Lauren Curran redirected to the crease. Schuma jumped on it and send in under the Penn State goalkeeper for the game's first goal. The assist was also the first of Curran's collegiate career.
 
Penn State answered just over a minute later as Sophia Ladieuz swept a shot into the netting from the stroke spot off a forwarding pass from Meghan Reese.
 
Saunders put the Tribe back on top in the 13th minute. Off a foul, junior Tabby Billingham centered a pass from the right end line, and Saunders got on the end of it, redirecting in front, up and over the PSU goalkeeper to give W&M a 2-1 lead through the first quarter of play. The goal was Saunders' third career marker and Billingham's second career assist.
 
Anna Simon scored three times in the second and the Nittany Lions scored four times overall in the segment, all off penalty corners, to take a 5-2 advantage into the locker room. Simon scored on nearly identical penalty corners in the 16th and 19th minutes off an insert from Allessie Mackenzie and a stick stop from Elena Vos. She added the hat trick with three minutes left in the period, scoring from the right side of the circle off a pass from Sophia Gladieux. Reese finished off the last corner chance for Penn State with less than 10 seconds remaining in the frame.
 
Emma Spisak, in the 34th minute, and Gery Schnarrs, in the 57th minute, provided the only goals of the second half for Penn State.
 
W&M starters - #00 Jones, #2 Schuma, #3 Domovich, #4 Saunders, #5 Snead, #6 Cornbrooks, #8 Friedman, #12 Moon, #14 Billingham, #20 Menges, #3 Curran
 
PSU Starters - #12 Barraco, #2 Allessie, #3 Gladieux, #4 Spisak, #8 Vos, #11 Me. Reese, #17 Simon, #23 Punch, #26 Schnarrs, #33 Love, #42 Mannino
 
Scoring Summary
4' | W&M – Mollie Schuma (Lauren Curran)
5' | PSU – Sophia Ladieuz (Meghan Reese)
13' | W&M – Lily Saunders (Tabby Billingham)
16' | PSU – Anna Simon (Allessie Mackenzie/Elena Vos)
19' | PSU – Anna Simon (Allessie Mackenzie/Elena Vos)
27' | PSU – Anna Simon (Sophia Gladieux)
30' | PSU – Meghan Reese (Sophia Gladieux)
34' | PSU – Emma Spisak (unassisted)
57' | PSU – Gery Schnarrs (Drew Taylor)
 
Inside the Numbers
- Penn State outshot W&M, 18-8, including an 11-6 advantage on goal.
- The Nittany Lions tallied 11 penalty corners compared to the Tribe's four.
- Senior Kimi Jones tallied five saves in goal for W&M, while Penn State's Brie Barraco added four stops.
 
Up Next
The Tribe continues its season-opening two-game homestand against nationally-ranked competition when it welcomes No. 8 Virginia to Williamsburg on Friday, Sept. 3. The contest carries a 5 p.m. start time from Busch Field.