WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Feb. 19, 2013) - The William and Mary lacrosse team will square off against its second consecutive nationally ranked opponent when it hosts No. 13 Ohio State at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Live stats and live video will be available at TribeAthletics.com.

Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe currently owns a 1-1 record after defeating American and falling at No. 7 Duke last week. As a team, W&M is averaging 12.5 goals per game and has posted a 50.0 shooting percentage. Individually, junior Taelor Salmon leads the team with nine points (7g, 2a) and was honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Monday. Senior Kyrstin Mackrides has also come up big with seven points (6g, 1a), while senior Katie Stillwell has provided three goals, eight draw controls and four ground balls through the opening two games. Junior goalie Colleen Nofi is coming off the best performance of her career at Duke, as she totaled a career-high 19 saves versus the Blue Devils. 

Scouting the Buckeyes
Ranked 13th nationally, Ohio State opened its season with a 12-11 loss at Louisville on Saturday. Katie Chase led the squad with three goals and six draw controls, while Cara Facchina (2g, 2a) and Jackie Cifarelli (1g, 3a) both totaled four points apiece. OSU returns eight starters and 20 letterwinners from last season's team that finished the 2012 campaign with an 11-6 record and ranked 15th nationally. 

News and Notes

W&M-OSU All-Time Series
W&M and Ohio State have met just once before, as the Tribe earned a 15-14 victory in Williamsburg in 2010.

Last Meeting
The then-No. 20 Tribe won its home opener for the seventh consecutive season with an exciting 15-14 victory against then-No. 16 Ohio State at Busch Turf on Feb. 14, 2010. In a contest that featured six ties and four lead changes, W&M utilized a 5-0 run early in the second half to gain momentum and then-senior Mary Zulty broke a 14-14 tie with a free position goal with 4:33 remaining. W&M dominated the draws, 20-11 (including a 10-3 advantage in the second half), and recorded eight more ground balls than the Buckeyes, 25-17. The College's impressive defensive effort caused 17 turnovers. 

Versus the American Lacrosse Conference
W&M owns a 13-31 record versus teams currently in the American Lacrosse Conference. W&M controls the all-time series with OSU (1-0) and is tied with Northwestern (4-4), while Florida (1-0), Johns Hopkins (2-1) and Penn State (24-7) own advantages against W&M. The Tribe and Vanderbilt have never met.

Last Time Out
The Tribe fell at No. 7 Duke, 15-8, on Sunday afternoon in Durham, N.C. W&M trailed by just three goals midway through the second half, but the Blue Devils recorded the contest's final four scores to earn their fourth consecutive victory. Junior Taelor Salmon led W&M with four points on three goals and one assist, while senior Kyrstin Mackrides totaled three goals and sophomore Kaleigh Noon provided three assists and three draw controls. Defensively, junior goalie Colleen Nofi recorded a career-high 19 saves, while senior Brett Hayes posted three caused turnovers.

Salmon Honored as CAA Player of the Week
After a pair of outstanding performances last week, junior attacker Taelor Salmon was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week. Salmon totaled nine points on seven goals and two assists in contests against American and No. 7 Duke last week. Additionally, the Fort Washington, Md., native recorded four ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers while posting a .500 shooting percentage (7-of-14). Salmon tallied five points (4g, 1a) with three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover in the season-opening victory against American, while she registered four points (3g, 1a) with a ground ball and a caused turnover versus the Blue Devils.

Mackrides Off to Solid Start
A preseason honorable mention all-conference selection, senior attacker Kyrstin Mackrides is off to a great start this season and has posted hat tricks in both of the opening two games. After totaling three goals and an assist in the season-opening win versus American, she posted three goals at No. 7 Duke.

Winning the Draw
Senior midfielder Katie Stillwell, a preseason honorable mention all-conference selection, has totaled a team-high eight draw controls in the opening two games this season. Last season, Stillwell ranked fourth on the squad with 21 draw controls.

Nofi Posts Career-High Saves Total
Making just her second-career start, junior goalie Colleen Nofi posted an outstanding effort at No. 7 Duke and recorded a career-high 19 saves.

Defeating a Ranked Team
When W&M takes on No. 13 Ohio State on Wednesday, it will be looking for its first win against a nationally ranked team since the 2010 season opener when it defeated No. 16 OSU in Williamsburg.

Season Openers
With its win against American, W&M improved its all-time record in season openers to 34-9-1. Additionally, the victory was the Tribe's ninth home-opening win in the last 10 seasons and improved the program's record to 27-7 in home openers since 1980.

Closing in on the Top 10
Senior attacker Kyrstin Mackrides is closing in on a pair of W&M's all-time top-10 lists, as she has totaled 119 career points and 95 career goals. Her points total currently ranks 23rd, while her goals total ranks 22nd.

Preseason Honors
Senior attacker Kyrstin Mackrides and senior midfielder Katie Stillwell were chosen as preseason honorable mention all-conference selections by a vote of the league's head coaches. A second-team all-conference selection in 2012, Mackrides led the Tribe with 32 goals last spring while ranking ninth in the CAA with 1.88 goals per game. En route to ranking third on the squad with 36 points as a junior, the Newtown Square, Pa., native also posted nine multi-goal games and six hat tricks. Stillwell was also a second-team All-CAA honoree last spring and returns for her senior season as one of the league's top midfielders. The Chantilly, Va., native recorded 15 points on 12 goals and three assists in 2012, while posting a .545 shooting percentage. Additionally, Stillwell totaled 20 ground balls, 21 draw controls and five caused turnovers.

Preseason Poll
In addition to releasing preseason all-conference honors, the CAA announced its preseason predicted order of finish as selected by the league's eight head coaches. W&M was chosen to finish sixth. Towson was picked to finish first and was followed by James Madison, Drexel, Delaware, Hofstra, W&M, Old Dominion and George Mason.

Returning Production
Led by senior attacker Kyrstin Mackrides and junior attacker Taelor Salmon, the Tribe returns seven of its top eight scorers from last season. Salmon posted a team-high 42 points (31g, 11a) last spring while Mackrides recorded 36 points (32g, 4a). Sophomore attacker Kaleigh Noon was also a key contributor and totaled 34 points (20g, 14a) during her rookie campaign.

Challenging Schedule
As is the case every season, the Tribe will once again challenge itself against some of the nation's top teams this spring. The 16-game slate features four games against teams that competed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, while five opponents are nationally ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaching Association (IWLCA) preseason poll.

Close Contests
Although W&M was unable to extend its streak of 10-win seasons last spring, many of its losses were very narrow defeats. In all, five of its losses came by two goals or less - including a 9-7 decision at then-No. 9 Penn State.

Captains
W&M is led by a trio of senior captains this season - Brett Hayes, Caitlin Murphy and Katie Stillwell. All three players are outstanding leaders and have made significant contributions on and off the field throughout their careers.