Tribe Routs Longwood, 24-6, In Home-Opener

Sellers, Parker Combine For Nine Goals, Tribe Pitches Shutout in Second Half

03/01/07 7:45PM

Williasburg - Despite the cool temperatures and overcast skies Thursday afternoon, William and Mary’s attack was red hot and brilliant in a 24-6 victory over state-rival Longwood at Albert-Daly Field. Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine) paced the barrage with a career-high five goals, as the Tribe handed out its largest margin of victory since 1980.

Kara Parker (Phoenix, Md.) added a career-best four goals, and Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, Md.) and Mary Zulty (Jarrettsville, Md.) each recorded a hat trick to help the Tribe erase any memories of its offensive struggles in a 15-3 season-opening loss to second-ranked Duke Sunday. W&M’s 24 tallies Thursday were four shy of the single-game school record and marked the most in a game since the Tribe defeated Richmond, 24-3, in 1980.

Kristen Wong (Richmond, Va.), Clare Dennis (Catonsville, Md.), Katie Rees (Catonsville, Md.) and Dolly Williams (Richmond, Va.) all scored two goals apiece for the Tribe, which also reached the 20-goal mark for just the third since 1997. Vitrano recorded three assists in the game for six points, and Wong added two assists, a career-best nine ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Cathleen Strain scored twice and assisted on another one of the Lancers’ six goals, all of which came in the first half.

Freshman goalkeeper Sara Beckstead (Annapolis, Md.) only needed to make one save and faced very little pressure in recording her first collegiate victory. W&M out-shot Longwood, 43-11, on the afternoon, including an 18-2 advantage in a dominant second-half performance. Keyed by Dennis’ five draw controls, the Tribe held a 10-0 advantage in draws in the second half and controlled the action in its offensive end for nearly the entire period.

Rees scored the first two goals of her career, and Wong also tallied a pair of markers in the first five minutes as the Tribe jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Sellers found the net, and Williams tacked on another to give W&M a commanding 7-1 lead with 19:27 remaining in the first. Sellers scored three more times in the first, and Parker added a couple goals, as the Tribe built a 15-6 edge at the break.

There was no let-up in the second period, as the Tribe’s ability to maintain possession salted away the victory. Sellers caused two turnovers, and fellow attackers Zulty, Williams and Vitrano also all forced Longwood miscues to barely allow the ball out of the offensive third. When the Lancers did move to the other end, the Tribe defense, led by Ashley Bolton (Narbeth, Pa.) and Anne Harrington (Alexandria, Va.), surrendered very little. Bolton forced a pair of turnovers, as the Tribe in total forced nine in the second half and limited Longwood to just two shots.

Wong’s nine ground balls surpassed her previous career-mark of eight set last season against Virginia and also contributed to the Tribe’s ability to control the action. The senior now has 15 ground balls through two games. She added four draw controls as well. Williams, Vitrano and Zulty each had two draw controls as well.

W&M continues its season-opening homestand on Sunday afternoon, hosting 13th-ranked Richmond at 1 p.m.

Box Score