WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary lacrosse team will look to extend its winning streak to four games when it opens its conference slate at No. 23 Drexel on Friday at 1 p.m.
Live stats will be available at
DrexelDragons.com, while video of the contest will be streamed on
FloCollege.
Complete game day information is available below.
A Look at the Tribe
After extending its winning streak to three games with a 16-8 victory at Longwood in its last outing, W&M enters its conference opener with a 4-3 record, which includes an impressive 3-1 mark on the road.
Anna Dawson (23g, 3a) and
Paige Gilbert (14g, 12a) lead the Tribe with 26 points apiece, while Gilbert has also recorded 21 draw controls and 11 ground balls.
Kate Draddy has also come up big with a team-high 28 draw controls and 19 points (15g, 4a). Draddy ranks 11th nationally in shooting percentage (.652), while Dawson in 16th (.622).
Dawson ranks fifth in the CAA in goals per game (3.29) and tied for sixth in points per game (3.71) with Gilbert, while
Ainsley Huizenga is fourth in assists per game (2.10).
Draddy (4.0),
Claire Doto (3.0) and Gilbert (3.0) all rank among the conference's top 10 in draw controls per game, while goalie
Marin Wilhelm is third in saves per contest (8.57).
As a team, W&M ranks third in the CAA in points per game (19.29) and assists (6.43), while it is second in fewest turnovers per game (13.43) and fourth in goals (12.86). Additionally, the Tribe ranks 16th nationally in shooting percentage (.471).
Scouting Drexel
Drexel enters CAA play on a four-game winning streak and owns a 5-2 record, which includes victories against Harvard and Penn State. As a team, the Dragons rank third in the conference in goals per game (13.43) and second in goals against average (9.22). Additionally, DU ranks second in ground balls per game (18.71) and third in draw controls per game (13.71).
Individually, Allison Drake ranks second in the CAA in goals per game (3.71) and third in points per game (4.57), while Bea Buckley is fifth in assists per contest (2.0). Goalie Jenika Cuocco ranks second in the league in goals against average (9.22), while Anna Maria Gragnani is third in the conference in draw controls per game (5.29).
| Matchup At A Glance |
|
W&M / Opp. |
Drexel / Opp. |
| Goals Avg. |
12.8 / 13.2 |
13.4 / 9.2 |
| Shooting % |
.471 / .445 |
.468 / .389 |
| Assists |
45 / 49 |
31 / 24 |
| Ground Balls |
107 / 110 |
131 / 111 |
| Draw Controls |
94 / 111 |
96 / 84 |
| Turnovers |
94 / 96 |
95 / 101 |
| Caused Turnovers |
48 / 58 |
55 / 51 |
W&M-Drexel All-Time Series
W&M leads the all-time series against Drexel, 12-11, but has lost the last seven matchups.
Last Meeting vs. Drexel
W&M fell to Drexel, 16-6, on Senior Day at Martin Family Stadium on April 20, 2024. Although W&M and DU both scored six goals apiece during the second half, the Tribe was unable to overcome a 10-goal halftime deficit. After Drexel opened the second half with a score, the Tribe utilized a 5-1 run to narrow the margin to 12-5 early in the fourth quarter. However, the Dragons registered four of the final five goals to secure the conference road victory.
Maresa Moyer led the Tribe with a goal and a career-high four draw controls, while
Ainsley Huizenga also found the back of the cage and added three draw controls.
Kate Draddy also came up big and totaled four ground balls and three draw controls.
Last Time Out
W&M extended its winning streak to three games with a 16-8 victory at Longwood last Saturday.
Paige Gilbert (4g, 1a, 5dc) and
Kate Draddy (4g, 1a, 5dc) led the Tribe with five points apiece and combined for 11 of the Tribe's 16 draw controls. Gilbert's four goals came on just five shots, while Draddy needed just six attempts for her four goals.
Anna Dawson and
Finley Hoffman also came up big offensively with three goals apiece, which marked Dawson's third-consecutive hat trick. Dawson added a pair of caused turnovers and three ground balls, while Hoffman's stat line included three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover.
Winning Numbers
W&M has posted impressive offensive figures during its current three-game winning streak and is averaging 17.0 goals/game and 9.0 assists/game with a 58.6 percent shooting percentage during the recent stretch.
Success on the Road
W&M is off to an impressive 3-1 start on the road this season and needs just one more victory away from Williamsburg to match its best total since 2019.
Impressive Stretch
Anna Dawson has posted four consecutive outstanding performances to help lead W&M and is averaging 4.25 goals per game with a 68.0 shooting percentage during the impressive stretch.
One for the Record Books
Ainsley Huizenga and
Paige Gilbert etched their names into W&M's record book during the win against VCU, as both standouts posted a pair of the best performances in program history. Huizenga equaled a single-game school record with six assists, while Gilbert's career-best nine draw controls ranks tied for fifth in school history. Additionally,
Anna Dawson scored a career-high six goals, which ranks just outside W&M's top-10 list.
Record Watch
Senior
Ainsley Huizenga currently ranks sixth all-time at W&M in draw controls (118) and needs just five more to pass Sarah Jonson for fifth in the Tribe's all-time record book.
Kate Draddy ranks 11th at W&M with 107 draw controls and needs just two more to move into W&M's all-time top-10 list.
Tightly Contested
Three of the Tribe's games this season have been decided by no more than two goals, as it defeated Coastal Carolina (13-11) and High Point (18-17), while it was edged by George Washington (10-9).
Overtime Success
The Tribe has won four of its last six OT games dating back to 2019.
Draddy, Wilhelm Earn CAA Honors
After posting tremendous performances in W&M's impressive season-opening win at Coastal Carolina,
Kate Draddy and
Marin Wilhelm earned player of the week honors by the CAA. Draddy was selected as the co-offensive player of the week, while Wilhelm was chosen as the defensive player of the week. Draddy posted a tremendous all-around performance in the triumph, scoring three goals on just four shots with a game-high six draw controls, a caused turnover and a ground ball. Her final goal, coming with 6:36 remaining in the four quarter, provided the Tribe with the decisive score to secure the road victory against the ASUN Conference preseason favorites. Wilhelm earned the league's top defensive weekly honor after totaling 13 saves and a .542 save percentage to go with three ground balls. Five of her saves came during the pivotal fourth quarter to help preserve the hard-fought, two-goal win.
Team Captains
W&M is led by a quartet of team captains this season -
Paige Gilbert,
Kate Draddy,
Claire Doto and
Sophia Chiodo Ortiz - as head coach
Kelyn Freedman announced the selections at the conclusion of the fall.
Academic Excellence
During the fall,
W&M Athletics was once again recognized for its academic excellence as it recorded the highest Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) among all Division I public institutions. Lax helped lead the way and earned a 100% GSR for the seventh straight season.
Up Next
Following the contest at Drexel, W&M will return to action when it opens its home conference slate when it hosts Hofstra at Martin Family Stadium next Friday at 5 p.m.
