The Story
Tribe Lax goes to Duke, hosts Tech
The William and Mary women’s lacrosse team hosted a familiar foe Wednesday night in a familiar setting when the Virginia Tech Hokies rolled into Williamsburg. This was anything but an ordinary game, however, as the Tribe sought revenge from last year’s disappointing loss in the snow of Blacksburg. As most of the parents in the crowd remembered, the Hokies defeated the Tribe early last year in similarly cold conditions, making the 5-plus hour trip back home even longer.
The game Wednesday night was deadlocked through the entire first half, neither team yielding an inch, as they battled for bragging rights, as well as a win. The game was tied at three, four, and five, before senior midfielder Clare Dennis broke the tie once again right before the half to give the Tribe, what would prove to be, important momentum. That momentum carried over into the second half, as the women won the opening draw, and never looked back, stretching their minimal halftime lead of one to a 14-8 final.
Mary Zulty, who co-led the Tribe in scoring with three goals on the night, registered the second half’s first score after only 41 seconds of play. Much like the Longwood game, Zolty tag-teamed with Ashley Holofcener to lead all scorers, each tallying a hat trick on the night. Holofcener also distributed to her teammates in very opportune situations, as she recorded a team-leading four assists. The early second half goal by Zulty opened the flood gates for the Tribe as they would score the game’s next five goals. Grace Golden, hampered previously by an apparent knee injury, contributed back-to-back goals as a part of that five-goal spurt, which all but did in the Hokies. To quiet (for the time being) all of the crowds’ painfully obvious uses of the expression “stick a fork in them,” the five goal spurt was finally ended with just under thirteen minutes left, but the damage had been done. Senior Julia Martin, who was surprisingly on the sideline for much of the contest, showed great leadership and poise as she thwarted the Hokies’ attempt at a comeback, by quickly scoring a goal of her own and (I’m sorry) sticking the proverbial fork in the Tech Turkeys for good.
The Tribe women dominated the second half by outworking the Hokies, getting to the important ground balls, and winning crucial draws, leading to an overwhelming 43 shot attempts on Tech’s goalie. The defense of William and Mary was able to take much of the second half off as the offense maintained great possessions. Possibly most important in the Tribe’s second half success was the great pressure the attack and midfielders asserted on Virginia Tech’s clears. Each possession became a struggle for Virginia Tech, as the William and Mary ride forced sloppy throwing and catching, creating turnovers deep in Tech’s zone. It wasn’t until six minutes left in the second half that Virginia Tech had their first sustained possession, at which time the game was already out of reach, and the Tribe defense was well rested. The game became physical (and almost dirty) in the waning minutes as the Tech women became frustrated at the inevitable outcome. But cooler heads prevailed, as the College moved to 2-1 on the season, and look to face off against another formidable opponent in tenth ranked Boston University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The College got its first loss of the year when they met second ranked Duke in Durham, NC on Sunday. The Tribe pulled out to an early 6-3 advantage, but the Blue Devils proved why they are one of the favorites to win a national title by going on an 8-0 run that carried over into the second half. The Tribe was unable to recover, despite keeping it close through much of the game.
The Tribe hosts number ten Boston University on Saturday.