RALEIGH, N.C. – The William & Mary women’s soccer battled Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest to a 1-1 draw in the first game of the N.C. State Tournament on Friday evening.
Senior Leci Irvin scored the Tribe’s lone goal. With the result, the Tribe is now 3-1-1 on the season, while the Demon Deacons are now 1-1-2.
Wake Forest started to find its footing and fired three shots in a span of seven minutes in the early stages of the first half. The first came in the 14th minute when Katie Dry had her shot blocked by a Tribe defender. Later, Kendall Fischlein and Maddie Huster each pushed their shots high in the 19th and 21st minute, respectively.
William & Mary nearly got on the scoreboard in the 30th minute after a pair of chances.
Sophomore Elysse Branton launched a shot towards the frame that was blocked by a Demon Deacon defender. The rebound landed on the foot of senior Barbara Platenberg, who put her chance on target but Wake Forest goalie Lindsay Preston made the stop.
The Demon Deacons found the back of the net first, with a goal in the 33rd minute. Sarah Teegarden sent a through ball that found Sarah Medina. Alone with the goalie, Medina finished to lift Wake to a 1-0 lead.
However, the lead was short lived as the Green and Gold came storming back. Off of a bad clear by the Wake Forest goalkeeper, Irvin found the loose ball and buried it into the empty net. The senior’s first marker of the season knotted the game a 1-1.
W&M continued to mount its pressure following the equalizer, firing three shots in four minutes. Junior Kady Kriner had the first, which was blocked. In the 38th minute, senior Nicole Baxter put a shot on target, but it was stopped by Preston. Just two minutes later, sophomore Adrienne Maday launched a shot that Preston solved.
At the break, William & Mary held a 9-6 advantage in shots on goal, which also included a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Baxter tried to break the tie in the early stages of the second half with a pair of shots. In the 54th minute, she uncorked a shot that clanged off of the crossbar. A moment later, she had another look but her shot sailed high.
The Tribe continued to mount its pressure and had three chances in a six minute span midway through the second period. Senior Katie Johnston had the first look, but Nonie Frishette saved her shot. Irvin had another look in the 66th minute that went wide, before Johnston had a shot blocked in the 71st minute.
Wake Forest’s best chance of the second half came towards the end of the period. In the 86th minute, Maddie Brock pushed a shot on frame, but senior goalkeeper Caroline Casey was there for the save.
Both teams had chances in the first overtime period. Wake had the first chance on a shot by Jenai Davidson that was blocked, before she sent a header wide in the 96th minute. The final chance came in the last minute of the first overtime when Fischlein put a shot on frame that Casey stopped.
The Tribe had three shots in the first overtime. Two came on blocked shots from Maday, before sophomore Clara Logsdon’s header was saved by the Demon Deacon goalkeeper.
Wake Forest had the only two chances in the second overtime. Off of a corner kick Medina pushed a shot wide in the 107th minute. The final chance either way came on a shot from Kahla Seymour, but it was turned away by Casey.
For the match, W&M had a slight 21-20 advantage on shots, including a 7-6 lead in shots on goal. Platenberg led the Tribe with five shots, while Baxter and Johnston each recorded three.
Casey continued her assent up the Tribe save list with five saves in the match. She is now just one save away from entering the top five, and three saves from fourth all-time in school history.
The women’s soccer team concludes the N.C. State Tournament with a match against the host Wolfpack on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for a pair of matches next weekend at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. The first of two matches is on Friday against Old Dominion at 7 p.m.
