Women's Soccer Participates in UNC Tournament

William & Mary Green started off the tournament the morning of Saturday, April 4th with a tough match against the UNC Heels. The Tribe came out flat, and it took them much of the short 40-minute game to wake up. Although they picked up the intensity a lot by the end of the game, they were unable to make a comeback and ended up losing 3-1.

The Tribe decided to put the disappointing loss behind them and start fresh with the next game, which was against Appalachian State. The ASU girls were very physical, but the Tribe fought hard for a 1-1 tie. This was not the outcome they had hoped for, but they found encouragement in the fact that their overall quality of play seemed to be getting better and better as the day went on.

Finally warmed up and ready to play, the Tribe came out strong against Lynchburg College in the afternoon, beating them 6-0. This concluded the first round of games within their own group and they were tied for 2nd in the group with Appalachian State. Tribe ended up snagging the 2nd place seed based on goal differential, which put them up against the University of Maryland Saturday evening. From this point on, the losing team of each game would be eliminated, so the Tribe sent the Terps packing with a 2-1 win. This win got Tribe to the quarterfinals bright and early Sunday morning against the Triangle Pioneers.

The Triangle Pioneers are a feared and revered team, , comprised of ex-UNC varsity players. Some suspect that at least a couple of the players must have played with Mia Hamm during her time at UNC. The Tribe was determined to beat them and was thrilled to find themselves ahead 2-0 at halftime. However, the Pioneers did not give in and scored early in the second half by expertly capitalizing on a corner kick opportunity. The Tribe soon answered with another goal of their own, making the score 3-1. Unfortunately for the Tribe, the Pioneers in their infinite experience didn't let this phase them and were able to equalize the score at 3-3 by the end of the half. The two teams then battled in a quick 5-minute overtime. The Tribe generated a lot of offensive opportunities, including a beautiful shot off the crossbar, but were unable to score. After 5 minutes, the outcome was still undecided and the teams had to go to penalty kicks. They started with the best of 3. Both team's first kickers made their shots, but the Tribe's next 2 kickers did not so the Pioneers came out on top. The Tribe was disappointed after being so close to beating the Pioneers and advancing. On the bright side, older members of the team remember being crushed by them 8-0 just four years earlier and therefore take some satisfaction from the demonstrated improvement in the program.