NORFOLK, Va.— William & Mary (3-0-3) women's soccer made history on Sunday night in Norfolk. The Tribe tied Old Dominion (4-0-2) 1-1 to finish their non-conference schedule unbeaten for the first time in program history.
Mia Suchora provided the lone Tribe goal in a hard-fought battle for 90 minutes.
The match between the two unbeaten sides started with a feeling-out process, with both teams going back and forth in the midfield battling for possession.
Things began to open up in the 15
th minute when the Tribe produced their first substantial attack of the contest.
Nora Green-Orset was on the end of a string of passes that led to a shot attempt from outside the 18. Her shot was collected with a jump by the ODU goalie and the stalemate carried on.
Less than five minutes later the Monarchs began an attack of their own. A long shot looked as if it could break the scoreless tie before
Zoe Doughty leaped from her keeper position to tip the ball over the crossbar to keep the match level.
Doughty's work wasn't done in the opening 45, as she had more action come her way in the 33
rd minute. ODU earned a free kick from 28 yards out and were able to place a shot on frame. Doughty went full extension to her right and made another critical stop. The subsequent corner produced another shot on goal for the Monarchs that Doughty turned away, and the sides headed to halftime in a scoreless tie.
The second half was also a back-and-forth affair with some added physicality and more scoring chances. The Tribe, who posted only one shot in the first 45, ended up with seven shots on the evening while ODU 11.
After Doughty made two saves in the opening minutes of the half, the Green and Gold accounted for the game's next four shots, including the first goal of the match.
Mia Suchora broke loose in the 59
th minute, firing off a left-foot strike that snuck it's way into the bottom right of the goal to put the Tribe up 1-0. The tally was the first career college point for Suchora and the fourth career-first goal by a W&M player in the last two games.
The goal was also the first surrendered by the Monarchs all season.
Old Dominion wasted no time in responding, scoring a goal of their own in the 65
th minute to re-tie the game at ones.
The match's last 25 minutes returned to a stalemate, with both teams having chances but not being able to convert.
Leah Iglesias,
Ava Lewis and
Ivey Crain all had attempted shots to break the tie, but Iglesias' attempt was saved, while Crain and Lewis just narrowly missed the frame.
The Monarchs golden chance came in the 88
th minute, but rattled the woodwork on the way to a 1-1 draw.
ODU placed six shots on goal, five of which were saved by Doughty. The Tribe ended the match with four shots on-frame.
Scoring
59'|W&M-
Mia Suchora
64'|ODU- Anna Torslov
Starters
W&M- #19 Doughty (GK), #8 Iglesias, #9 Sellers, #10 Shackford, #12 Kurtas, #13 Orset-Green, #14 O'Toole, #18 Zier, #22 Delacruz, #23 Crain, #32 Greene
ODU- #0 Bredek (GK), #5 Kijowski, #6 Thrysoe, #7 Morisi, #9 Torslov, #10 Balcazar Algarin, #12 Watts, #14 Kulha, #16 Turkoglu, #22 Daveler, #23 Arndt
Up Next
The Tribe begin CAA conference play on the road at Drexel on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. with the game being broadcast on FloFC.