By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
William & Mary women's soccer coach Julie Shackford had the perfect three-word analogy of her team's opener Thursday night at Martin Family Stadium: "Pleased but disappointed."
 
Pleased because the Tribe scored three goals in a game for the first time since the 2018 season and held the lead against an ACC team for more than 52 minutes. Disappointed because W&M gave up that lead by allowing two goals in the final 7:20.
 
In the end, Virginia Tech came away with a 4-3 win. For the Tribe, which scored only six goals in 15 games last season, there was plenty of good before a crushing ending.
 
"We played to-to-toe with them, and outside of the last 15 minutes, we put together a good game plan against them," Shackford said. "We clearly have some kids who are intent on finishing and hunter-type forwards who are going to put us in good position to score.
 
"We just have to clean up the transition defending and be able to manage games. Pleased but disappointed, because I think we could have won that game."
 
William & Mary led from the 36^th minute, when freshman Ivey Crain scored her second goal of the night to make it 3-2, until the 83^rd, when the Hokies tied it. The Tribe took a 1-0 lead not quite seven minutes in before Tech tied it in the 15^th.
 
Crain, who scored 155 goals in her high school career outside Atlanta, became the first W&M player since Sarah Segan in 2018 to score multiple goals in a game. They came within 90 seconds of each other in the first half, each assisted by Kayleigh Shackford.
 
Crain just missed a hat trick 11 minutes into the second half when her shot in the box just grazed the top of the crossbar.
 
"Ivey is a hunter," Shackford said. "She's the wants-to-burn-a-hole-in-the-back-of-the-net type of forward. She's got a one-track mind."
 
The big question coming into the season for the Tribe was offense. That was answered quickly and emphatically.
 
Less than seven minutes in, after a corner kick, Kenna Zier lofted the ball to Emma D'Alesandro in the box. D'Alesandro headed it to Bridget Fitzpatrick, who on the bounce flicked the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
 
The Hokies answered seven minutes later on a goal by Tori Powell off an assist from Natalie Mitchell. Five minutes after that, Tech took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Taylor Price, who was assisted by Powell and Mitchell.
 
But at the 34-minute mark, the Tribe pulled even. Shackford kicked a loose ball ahead to Crain, who with a defender literally on her back had a one-on-one chance. Tech keeper Alia Skinner got her right hand on the ball but only deflected it into the net.
 
Less than a minute and a half later, W&M had a free-kick opportunity from about 40 yards. Shackford's sent the ball perfectly into the box, and Crain headed it in to make it 3-2 with less than five minutes left in the first half.
 
That's where it stayed until Tech got the equalizer on a goal by Powell with 7:40 remaining in the game. Fifty-two seconds later, Emma Pelkowski put the Hokies ahead 4-3 by bouncing a shot off the crossbar and into the net.
 
It wasn't the ending the Tribe wanted, but the performance — especially against a team that went to the NCAA tournament last season as an at-large — was encouraging.
 
"It was definitely a positive that we were able to score three goals against an ACC team," Kayleigh Shackford said. "We kind of got outworked when in those 10 minutes they scored those two goals. A lot of positives and a couple of negatives leading into the game on Sunday (at George Washington).
 
"We came in knowing we have goal scorers this year. And we came into this game to beat them and not just stay with them. So, yeah, it's definitely an unlucky battle. But we've got to keep our heads up."