By Justin Paley
For the first time this season the No. 13 Pride women’s lacrosse team allowed an opponent to score double digit goals as it fell to the College of William & Mary Tribe, 11-9 on Sunday.
The Pride’s seven-game win streak was snapped with the loss. The streak was the longest since the 2001 team had win streaks of seven and eight games.
The Pride now stands at 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Tribe won the draw controls, 17-4, and was able to control the ball for most of the game.
“That was really crucial today,” said Pride head coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe of the draw controls. “We had a lot of trouble coming up with them. We’ve been strong all year on draw controls but today it was a different situation for us. [William & Mary] used their speed and size to their advantage. They really dominated in that loose ball situation.”
Senior goalie Lisa Papa got her first start of the year in goal for the Pride and allowed six goals while making three saves in the first half. Papa was replaced by freshman Maisie Osteen in the second half. Osteen suffered her first loss of the year while allowing five goals and made five saves.
Pride sophomore attack Kim Hillier scored two of the first three goals for the Pride as it jumped out to an early 3-1 lead with 22:27 left in the first half.
The lead did not last long as the Tribe scored five of the next seven goals to take a 6-5 lead at halftime. During the run, Morgan Lang and Morgan Watkins each had two goals for the Tribe.
Pride sophomore attack Casey McGrath tied the game at six just 2:02 into the second half. But the Tribe’s Colleen Dalon and Emily Vitrano responded by finding the back of the net to give the Tribe a 8-6 lead with 25:41 left in the game
Neither team scored over the next 10 minutes before junior midfielder Heather Albro scored two straight goals to tie the game at eight with 15:51 left in the second half.
Dalon put the Tribe up for good, scoring two straight and Watkins scored unassisted with 7:20 left. Dalon finished with a team-high four goals for the Tribe.
McGrath gave the Pride its final goal of the game with just 30 seconds remaining but it was too late. McGrath is second on the Pride with 24 goals and seven assists.
“Casey’s a player that I have had a lot of confidence in from the beginning,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “She’s starting to understand how important she can be to this program. She’s a very skilled payer and confident player.”
Junior Jamie Irving led the Pride on defense with four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
“William & Mary played well,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “I felt our team played well defensively but did not control the ball when we needed to come up with big possessions towards the latter part of the game.”
The Pride is next in action on Friday when it hosts James Madison University at 4:30 p.m. “We’ve got a big weekend coming up and I’m excited to get back and play at our home facility,” Klaes-Bawcombe said.
Sophmore Kim Hillier scored two goals in the Pride´s recent loss to College William & Mary. Hillier has a team-leading assists so far this season. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.g)
