WASHINGTON D.C. – William & Mary field hockey drew two penalty corners in the final minutes of regulation but couldn't convert as the Tribe fell 2-1 to American at Jacobs Recreational Complex on Saturday afternoon. Both Eagles' goals came in the final 10 minutes.
Senior
Tabby Billingham, who was
named to the NFHCA Senior Team last week, got W&M (9-8, 3-3 CAA) on the board in the 18th minute. Sophomore
Pyper Friedman started the play, corralling the rebound after her initial penalty corner shot was saved and dishing off to a waiting Billingham. It didn't take long for Billingham to react, sending the ball quickly into the back of the cage for her first goal of the season and Friedman's team-best fifth assist.
Throughout the rest of the first half, W&M controlled play, and, despite two American penalty corners in the third quarter, junior goalkeeper
Maddie George held strong between the pipes.
After 50 minutes of shutout action, however, American (9-6, 4-2 Patriot) was able to break through. Frederiek Thierry tied the score at one in the 51st minute as the Eagles turned field quickly against W&M. Just over four minutes later, Imogen Hatton found Megan Hoffman for the go-ahead goal.
Still, the Tribe had chances to knot it back up. A 58th-minute penalty corner shot went wide, and the next attempt, with 41 seconds left on the clock, was blocked.
The Green and Gold held a 9-7 shot advantage, including 5-4 on goal. George finished with a pair of saves.
Despite wrapping up the regular season with a loss, the Tribe's 2022 was chock-full of memorable moments. W&M recorded three wins over top-20 teams this fall and spent six straight weeks in the national rankings, peaking at No. 16, the program's highest since 2004.
Scoring Summary
18' | W&M –
Tabby Billingham (
Pyper Friedman)
51' | American - Frederiek Thierry
55' | American - Megan Hoffman (Imogen Hatton)
Starters
W&M - #1 George (GK), #3 Domovich, #5 Snead, #6 Rossman, #9 McGaughey, #12 Moon, #14 Billingham, #17 Miller, #21 Goodwin, #25 King, #33 Curran
American - #32 Ortyl (GK), #1 Hite, #3 Kraft, #4 Boshoff, #5 Horace, #7 Curanz, #8 Campagna, #9 Dupont, #13 Dellamaggiore, #18 Hoffman, #19 Weiss
