WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary field hockey opens Colonial Athletic Association play at home with a pair of matches this weekend.
 
The Tribe starts the weekend by hosting Hofstra at Busch Field on Friday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. W&M welcomes Northeastern to Williamsburg to wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 3, at noon.
 
All Tribe home matches and all contests in CAA play will be streamed on FloLive. By following this link (flosports.tv/caa), CAA fans can sign up for an annual subscription to FloSports, which remains at a reduced rate of $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month) or a discounted monthly rate of $12.50.  Also, anyone who subscribes using a CAA member Institution domain (.edu) e-mail address will be eligible for a $6.99 subscription rate per month.  Any subscription provides access to all content that FloSports offers.
 

- The Tribe is coming off arguably its best performance of the season despite suffering a 3-1 setback to No. 18 Duke. Junior Lauren Curran tied the game at one in a third quarter, scoring on a spinning shot. The Blue Devils scored twice in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner on a penalty stroke, to pull out the win.
 
- Hofstra enters its CAA opener at 5-5 on the year and have won three of its last four. The Pride won three-straight defeating Long Island (3-1), Sacred Heart (2-0) and Quinnipiac (2-0). HU is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at home to Rider on Sept. 24. Lara Borensztein and Mercedes Currie are tied for the team lead with four goals apiece.
 
- W&M leads the all-time series with Hofstra at 15-7, including a 4-2 victory in the last meeting in Williamsburg in 2019. The Tribe has won four straight against the Pride and seven of the last eight in the series.
 
- Northeastern sits at 3-6 on the year, but enters the weekend on a two-match win streak thanks to victories over Dartmouth, 3-0, and Boston University, 2-1. NU travels to JMU on Friday to open CAA play. Mak Graves leads the Hukies with five goals on the year, while Lauren Rowe is tied for the lead with 11 points on four goals and three assists.
 
- Northeastern holds a slim 12-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Tribe has won five of the last six in the series, but the Huskies pulled out a 1-0 win in the last meeting in the CAA semifinals in 2019.
 
- Junior Lauren Curran tops the Tribe with five points on two goals and an assist. Along with a goal against Duke, she scored her first collegiate goal against Longwood and assisted on the Tribe's first goal of the season vs. nationally-ranked Penn State. The assist was also her first collegiate point.
 
- Sophomore goalkeeper Maddie George has started the last two matches for W&M and turned in strong performances against a pair of nationally-ranked teams. In her first start of the season, she tallied a career-high nine saves in a 2-0 setback at No. 12 Liberty on Sept. 19. She followed that up with five saves, including stopping a first-half penalty stroke against No. 18 Dukes on Sept. 26.
 
- In its strong defensive performance at Liberty, the Tribe record three defensive saves. Senior Cara Menges had two stops, while junior Rachel Gantz added the third.
  
- The Tribe's 2021 schedule is loaded with nationally-ranked competition. W&M has already faced No. 8 Virginia, No. 12 Liberty, No. 16 Penn State and No. 18 Duke. The Tribe has three remaining contests against nationally-ranked foes in No. 14 Virginia (Oct. 20), No. 19 Old Dominion (Oct. 24) and No. 23 Delaware (Oct. 17). In total, the Tribe's non-conference schedules features six of nine matches against nationally-ranked competition.
 
 - Three Tribe players have scored their first collegiate goals this season. Sophomore Mollie Schuma tallied W&M's first goal of the season against nationally-ranked Penn State for her first career marker. In the Tribe's match with Longwood, Curran and sophomore Maddie McGaughey each scored their first collegiate goals.
 
- Junior Tabby Billingham, an All-CAA Second Team pick in the spring, leads the Tribe with two assists. She assisted on a goal in the opener against Penn State and added another against Longwood. She ranks ninth in the CAA and 107th nationally in assists per game (0.33).

- The Tribe announced its captains and leadership group for the 2021 season. Senior Cara Menges and junior Tabby Billingham were selected as captains. The leadership group joining the Tribe captains includes seniors Jorja Morgan and Kimi Jones and juniors Rachel Gantz and Sally Snead.