By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Six minutes into the third quarter of the lacrosse season opener, Anna Dawson scored to put her team ahead. Forty seconds into the fourth quarter, she found the net again to give her team the lead.

William & Mary held on to defeat Coastal Carolina, the Atlantic Sun's defending champion and preseason favorite, to get the season started right. And for Dawson, who missed the 2023 season after undergoing knee surgery and saw limited time last spring, it was a monumental moment.

Not based solely on her two goals, a career high at the collegiate level. And not solely because of the season-opening win against a team that played in last year's NCAA tournament. It was all of that … plus just being out there again.

"It's so great to be back and dropping your stick when you score a goal and hugging your teammates," Dawson said. "But it's also important to remember how it feels to not get in the game and have to do the stats when you're hurt. It makes you so immensely grateful for being on that field.

"At this point of my career, I've touched every aspect of being on a team. Being hurt, not seeing a lot of playing time last year, and being a starter this year. What has been most important to me is making my teammates laugh and being someone who can talk about anything. I really fell back in love with the game."

That's showing on the field, where Dawson leads the Tribe (and is tied for third in the CAA) with 23 goals. That includes six, double her career total coming into the season, in a 17-11 win over VCU on March 1. She's started all seven of this season's games and has a shooting percentage of .622.

"She just gets out there and loves the game," Tribe coach Kelyn Freedman said. "That's what I think she lets take over. She's like, 'I love this game, so why worry about anything else? I'm just going to play to the best of my ability and do what I can to help the team.'

"She's been through a lot and has that mentality of 'I have nothing to lose.' She just puts it out there every single day and every single moment she's out there."

As a freshman, Dawson played in nine of the Tribe's 16 games and scored her only goal against Campbell. But all along, she suspected her knee wasn't right. An MRI after the season confirmed she was correct and had a dislocated kneecap

"That's when you could tell my knee groove was a little bit widened," said Dawson, a double major in English and history. "And that was allowing my patella to kind of stretch over time, which was allowing for the subluxation to happen."

In November of 2022, Dawson underwent a tibial tubercle osteotomy, a surgical procedure that realigns the kneecap (patella). She missed the following season and it wasn't until January of 2024, 14 months later, that she was cleared to play.

"Going through physical therapy and dealing with those mental struggles of being hurt, I'd say that's tough but that's an understatement," she said. "I was hurt for a very long time, so I had a huge mind shift my junior year to start to see the good in my injury.

"Getting back was so hard, but being on the bench was also hard. I always told myself that no one's going to remember how many points you put up on the field or how many goals you score. What your coaches and teammates will remember you for is seeing the good in what you're given."

Although sidelined, Dawson still had her off-the-field activities. They include the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Morgan's Message, Best Buddies, and Athlete to Athlete. She also volunteers at D.J. Montague Middle School in Williamsburg.

Three months after a frustrating '24 season ended, Freedman was hired as the Tribe's lacrosse coach. She is from Southeastern Pennsylvania, as is Dawson and a dozen more on W&M's roster.

Freedman knew little about Dawson, who had barely played in her three years with the Tribe and was nursing an ankle injury when the new coach arrived. It didn't take her long to be impressed.

"The first practice she could play in, we did a 4-v-3 type of drill," Freedman said. "And everyone was like, 'Where did this come from?' She just completely dominated, and as soon as the drill ended, there was nothing to say but 'Welcome back, Anna, you just crushed that!'

"She has an excitement to be back out there, and she really hasn't slowed down since. She's become an integral part of our offense."

Dawson and the rest of the Southeastern Pennsylvania crew will have a homecoming Friday as the Tribe goes against Drexel. This will be her first game in the Philadelphia area since the 2022 season opener, in which she played a few minutes.

Things are different now, both for Dawson and the team.

"There was a lot of uncertainty going into the season with a whole new staff," she said. "But we couldn't be more thrilled with what we got. Kelyn is super supportive with us. (Assistants) Bianca (Chevarie) and Katie (Lasater) have been amazing.

"We've switched a lot of what we knew into new ways of playing. We're a faster, stronger and more composed team. We're surprising a lot of people, which has been awesome."