Tuesday, March 19, 2024

W&M Women’s Soccer Wins Exhibition Opener over Richmond

(Tribe Athletics)

WILLIAMSBURG — Playing its first exhibition match since 2019, William & Mary women’s soccer turned in a positive performance just four days into the preseason, topping in-state foe Richmond, 2-1, on Saturday evening at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.

The teams competed in an alternative format over 90 minutes, playing three 30-minute periods. After both teams scored in the opening 30 minutes, the Tribe found the winner in the third and final frame.

Senior Jillian O’Toole provided what proved to be the game-winner 11 minutes into the third period. She turned an ripped a shot off the crossbar from just inside the penalty area. The ball ricochet down and caught a piece of Richmond goalkeeper Sydney Moore along the goal line before ending up across the line.

Classmate Kayleigh Shackford tallied her second assist of the game on serving the ball toward O’Toole off a free kick.

The Tribe struck first in the 20th minute of the opening frame as rookie Ivey Crain found the back of the net. W&M generated a dangerous free kick just outside the box along the left wing. Junior Ginny Delacruz laid the ball off to Shackford whose shot from 20 yards out rang off the crossbar and down. Crain won the race to the rebound and pushed it across for the first goal of the contest.

Richmond drew even just five minutes later on a penalty kick. An errant clearance resulted in a Spider attacker being tackled in the box, giving the visitor the spot kick. JoJo McShane slotted it home to equalize.

Summary
20′ | W&M – Ivey Crain (Kayleigh Shackford)
25′ | Richmond – JoJo McShane (penalty kick)
71′ | W&M – Jillian O’Toole (Shackford)

Starters
W&M – #19 Doughty (GK), #7 Puskar, #10 Shackford, #12 Kurtas, #14 O’Toole, #18 Zier, #21 D’Alesandro, #22 Delacruz, #23 Crain, #25 McClure, #28 Walker
UR – #1 Montague (GK), #4 Sutton, #5 Morgan, #9 Prillaman, #11 Coleman, #12 Waniel, #15 Snee, #16 Antonick, #20 Wierman, #25 Mancino, #34 Merz

Inside the Numbers
– The Tribe outshot Richmond, 11-6, including a 4-2 margin in shots on goal.
– W&M attempted six corner kicks compared to five for the Spiders. The Green and Gold had four in the first 30 minutes, while UR had three in the final 30 minutes.
– Shackford, O’Toole and Crain led W&M with two shots apiece.
– Senior goalkeeper Zoe Doughty played 60 minutes, recording a save, while sophomore Morgan Wood played the middle 30 minutes.

Up Next
The Tribe continues its exhibition slate at George Mason on Saturday, Aug. 13. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Fairfax. W&M opens the regular season at home against ACC foe Virginia Tech on Thursday, Aug. 18. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on FloFC.

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