By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

In three-plus decades as a head coach, Julie Shackford has seen plenty. But here's a first, at least for her: William & Mary will open the CAA women's soccer tournament against the same team it played four days earlier in the regular season finale.

In that game, the Tribe defeated Northeastern 2-1 at Martin Family Stadium. But Shackford knows that result means nothing going into a postseason rematch Thursday night in Towson, Md.

"You look at this game on its own merits," Shackford said. "You start over in the playoffs regardless of who you're playing. At the end of the day, it's do or die and everyone will come ready to play.

"Clearly we have a familiarity, but we also know that in soccer, what a team does from game to game can be completely different. We'll be prepared for them, and as long as we're playing with energy and passion, we're in the hunt to beat anybody."

In the earlier matchup, W&M (6-3-3 CAA, 21 points) scored both of its goals in the first 21 minutes. The Huskies (6-2-4, 22) answered less than 10 minutes into the second half, but the Tribe allowed only three shots the rest of the way. Keeper Morgan Wood had a key save in the 86th minute.

"We came out strong out of the gate," Shackford said. "It was a nice bounce-back after Towson (a 3-0 loss) and played really well, mixing young players and veterans throughout the game.

"We're very, very deep and we had a lot of players make an impact. It was a really positive day to end Homecoming weekend."
Senior defender Nicole Sellers believes the previous game can be relevant in preparation, but only to a point.

"We can use Sunday's game to prep a little bit better since we did get to play them on the field and see how they were in person," she said. "That will be beneficial for us. We'll go in with the same mindset we had on Sunday but this time we'll be hungrier since we're in the playoffs."

The Tribe will be looking for its first postseason win since 2017, when it defeated James Madison 4-3 in the first round. Last season, W&M lost to Drexel 2-1 in Philadelphia.
The Tribe finished the regular season with nine wins, its most since 2016. W&M went undefeated (7-0-5) through its first 12 games. The Tribe has a 2-2-1 record against the rest of the tournament field.

"I think the group has responded well to most everything about the season," Shackford said. "We're really excited to be one of six in such an extremely competitive conference."

"I feel really good about where we are. We definitely are in a position at this point in the program to make a run in the tournament, and that's what we're playing for."

For some on W&M's roster, this will be their last chance to win a conference championship. Sellers is a senior, but she will be coming back next season as a grad student.
"I feel like I've been through so much with my class," she said. "It's bittersweet to think these are the last few games we'll be able to play together. But we're trying to put the emotions aside and not think about it because we want to be on top of it for Thursday's game."