By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

They never expected to be here this long. Then again, considering how it all began, how could they have known what to expect?

In late summer of 2020, Maddie George, Mollie Schuma and Maddie McGaughey arrived at William & Mary to begin their academic and field hockey careers. Three hundred miles to the southwest, Ellie Taylor did the same at Davidson College.

But, again, this was 2020, so you know how that went. Masks, social distancing, all because of COVID-19. Neither W&M nor Davidson had a fall season, and each played a much abbreviated schedule in the spring of '21.

Four years later, thanks to an NCAA rule that granted all athletes from the COVID season an extra year of eligibility, all four are back. George, Schuma and McGaughey are going into their fifth and final season with the Tribe as grad students. Taylor transferred to W&M after graduating from Davidson last spring and has two seasons to play.

After no games in the fall of '20 and only five in the spring of '21, the Tribe made the most of things and eventually won the CAA championship in '23. It's been, to quote the Grateful Dead, "a long, strange trip."

"Coming in as a freshman, it was really … weird," said Schuma, who is enrolled in the MS in Business Analytics program. "We didn't know what to expect, but that was certainly not what we expected.

"It was a no-brainer for me to come back. If I had the opportunity to play another season at a school I love everything about, why not finish strong and get those four years that we deserve?"

For McGaughey, who is also in the MSBA program, it's been odd but rewarding.

"It was definitely difficult, especially being our first year in college and having been hyped so much," said McGaughey, a defender who has started 53 games in her career.

"After finally being able to experience a real season, it was really exciting to be able to redo what happened. And this really offered me the opportunity to play hockey four years and further my academic career here by obtaining a Master's."

For George, it wasn't how she had it planned. But when you get a chance to keep playing the sport you love while in a Master's program at one of the top universities in the country, you take it.

"When I first came in, it wasn't necessarily something I was considering," said George, a goal keeper who is in the Masters in Accounting online program. "But from how much I've grown, I know this is a really good opportunity.

"After experiencing three relatively normal years after (the COVID season), I can see that whatever season we had my freshman year couldn't have been anything like it was supposed to be. It feels really, really right to do one more year. It almost feels too good to be true."

Down in Davidson, N.C., Taylor went through the same ordeal. There was a shortened spring season, but it was even more shortened for her after sustaining a concussion the day before the opener. She played in 32 games for the Wildcats in her career, only two coming last fall due to an illness — which is why she has two years remaining instead of one.

Taylor graduated last spring with a degree in art history and enrolled at William & Mary. She plans to take anthropology classes this year and then go for her Master of Arts in anthropology with a specialization in historical archeology.

"It was a very weird time going to a new place far away from home and being in a totally different world, not being able to see anyone and stuck in your dorm all day," she said of her freshman year. "I see coming to William and Mary as an unexpected but amazing opportunity."

And heading into the '24 season, which begins Aug. 30 at Duke, Tribe coach Tess Ellis doesn't mind having another go-round with four seasoned players. That's particularly evident on defense with George and McGaughey having 100 starts between them.

"That gives me experience in the backfield to help some younger players figure it all out," Ellis said. "And, obviously, they all get a pathway to grad school."