Tribe Dominates Appalachian State

Senior Kim Hedley finished with a goal and two assists in the Tribe victory.

10/14/07 2:30PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary field hockey team turned in a dominating performance on its way to a 4-0 victory over Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon at Busch Field. W&M scored a pair of goals in each half as senior forward Kim Hedley finished with a goal and two assists in the victory. W&M improved to 7-8 on the season, while ASU fell to 3-12.

The Tribe outshot ASU, 25-3, including a 15-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Tribe forced Mountaineer goalkeeper Denise Adams to make 11 saves and defender Caitlin Counts did her part for ASU as well with two defensive saves. The Tribe also held a 13-1 advantage in penalty corners.

In the 12th minute, a nice series of passes in the midfield by sophomore Sarah Louie and junior Lauren Giles, nearly set up the first goal of the contest. Giles flipped the ball forward to set redshirt freshman Alexis Gerber on a break into the area. Gerber tried the wrap a shot around toward the left side of the board and beat the ASU goalkeeper, but Counts made a diving defensive save to keep out the ball of the cage.

Gerber finally broke through for the Tribe at the 22:44 mark. Freshman midfielder Erica Eng threaded a diagonal pass through the defense finding Gerber streaking into the right side of the circle. The Berwyn, Pa., native sent a shot on goal that was stopped by Adams, but Gerber pounded on the rebound and finished to the center of the boards for her second goal of the season. It proved to be Gerber’s first career game-winning marker.

W&M used a penalty corner to its advantage less than two minutes from halftime to push the lead to 2-0. Senior Laura Kastelic scored on a hard shot from the top of the circle for her third tally of the season. Adams actually got a pad to the shot for ASU, but the moment of the attempt carried off the pad and over into the boards. Hedley and senior midfielder Jes Kacerek were credited with the assists on the play.

It looked as though the Tribe lead would be extended to 3-0 in the 49th minute, but W&M could not convert a penalty stroke chance. Sophomore Wesley Drew made a nice move along the right side of the circle to gain space and lifted a shot toward the upper right side of the net. Adams got a piece of the ball and fell on top of it before it crossed the goal line, resulting in the stroke. Kastelic could not convert the stroke opportunity for the College.

The Tribe would find the back of the cage twice in less than a minute span with seven minutes remaining. Off a common foul on the right side, Kastelic played the ball to Hedley along the right end line. Hedley centered a pass to the middle of the area, where sophomore midfielder Kelsey Jackson finished center of cage. It was the second assist of the game and sixth of the season for Hedley, while Jackson added her second career goal at the 63:17 mark.

Just 49 seconds later, the Tribe scored its fourth and final goal of the afternoon. Giles fed the ball back to Hedley along the right side of the circle, and the Virginia Beach, Va., native scored her sixth goal of the season on a hard shot into the near post boards. The assist was Giles third of the season.

The Tribe will return to CAA action with a pair of road games, Oct. 20-21. The College will travel to VCU on Saturday, Oct. 20, for a 1 p.m. contest against the Rams, before going to Harrisonburg, Va., to face James Madison on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m.

Box Score