WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— Providing a constant offensive attack paid dividends for the William & Mary women's soccer team on Sunday, earning a 2-0 victory over App State for the Tribe's first win of the season at Martin Family Stadium.
Ivey Crain provided the Tribe's first goal via an assist from
Molly Widderich in the second half, while
Lindsay Wilson scored the insurance goal later on.
Crain's motor was running high from the jump, streaking down the right side in the 8
th minute off a
Leila Greene throw in, but her shot was scooped up by the App State keeper.
Freshman keeper,
Gwen Doughty, saw her first action for the Tribe in the 19
th minute, diving to her left to keep the Mountaineers off the board.
W&M controlled the momentum for the rest of the first half, having a handful of chances to break the scoreless tie.
Nora Green-Oreset fired a header towards net off a Widderich free kick in the 25
th minute but had it miss high and left. Crain became active again over the last 15 minutes of the half, having a shot from 20 yards out just missing the crossbar. Less than a minute later the Tribe senior had a breakaway on a long ball from Green-Orset, but couldn't find the target in the 1-on-1 with the keeper.
Her final try of the half came in the 33
rd minute, having a shot from the top of the box just sneak outside the far post.
When the halftime whistle sounded the teams headed to the dressing rooms tied 0-0 with W&M holding a 7-4 advantage on shots.
The Tribe used its momentum from the first period to keep up the pressure over the final 45 minutes and wasted little time to grab the lead once the half began.
Widderich served up a perfectly judged long ball in the 54th minute that allowed Crain to sneak behind the defense again. This time she took advantage, with a nice first touch to get by the keeper and putting the ball away into the unoccupied net.
The goal was the first of the season for Crain who has led the Tribe in each of the past three seasons in scoring.
App State seemed poised to equalize the game but were stymied by Doughty who made three saves over the next 15 minutes to keep the Tribe in front.
Wilson gave the Green and Gold breathing room down the stretch, collecting a bouncing ball just outside of the box and firing a rocket that found the left corner of the goal. The 76
th minute tally was the second goal of the season for the Tribe junior.
From there W&M coasted to the finish line to secure a 2-0 victory and hand the visiting Mountaineers their first loss of the season.
Crain finished with a game-high six shots as the Tribe outshot App State 13-10. Doughty collected five saves on the afternoon for her first career clean sheet and win.
The Tribe returns to action when it heads to Harrisonburg, taking on JMU Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
