The William and Mary field hockey team opens the 2012 season this weekend with a pair of matches in Davidson, N.C. against two NorPac opponents.  The Tribe will take on Davidson Saturday at 11 a.m., before facing Appalachian State in a neutral-site match-up Sunday at 4 p.m.

Live Stats

Scouting the Tribe
W&M returns 21 players all but a single goal from its 2011 roster, and adds six talented newcomers as well.  Leading the way on the stat sheet is the all-conference trio of Leah Zamesnik, Jesse Ebner, and Emma Clifton, who combined for 15 goals and 11 assists last year.  The defense will be led by the Tribe's two captains, Christine Johnson and Maria Caro, as well as fifth-year goalkeeper Elizabeth Frey.

Scouting the Wildcats
Davidson was 11-9 last year and finished fourth in the NorPac, but lost eight players off that squad.  One of the returning standouts for coach Ginny Turner (W&M class of 2005) is two-time conference Player of the Year Finley Amato.

Scouting the Mountaineers
Appalachian State struggled in a 2-18 season last year, but has renewed hope for 2012 with a roster that includes 10 newcomers.  The Mountaineers do return their leading scorer from 2011, Jessi Stuart, who accounted for five goals and three assists in her freshman campaign.

The Series
W&M and Davidson have meet nine times before now, and the Tribe owns an 8-1 record in the series.  Last year proved Davidson's lone win, a 2-1 thriller in double-overtime in Williamsburg.  This will be the first match at Davidson since 2001.  Against Appalachian State, the Tribe is a perfect 4-0, with the last meeting coming in 2009.

News and Notes
-The Tribe had three players earn spots on the pre-season all-conference team, the most ever for a W&M squad.  Leah Zamesnik was one of 11 players selected to the first-team, while sophomores Jesse Ebner and Emma Clifton were both named honorable-mention.

-Clifton was recently the focus of W&M's "Touting the Tribe" video series.  The program highlights one player from each of the Tribe's 23 intercollegiate sports.

-Six of W&M's 17 regular season opponents earned a spot in the top-25 in the NFHCA pre-season poll.  Old Dominion led the way with a No.-3 ranking, and No. 8 Virginia also checked into the top-10.  Wake Forest (13th) and Boston University (14th) were also ranked, as were Northeastern (No. 21) and Drexel (No. 24).