Tribe Defeats Georgetown, 2-1, in NCAA Tournament Opening Round

11/16/07 10:00PM

Charlottesville, Va. - The William and Mary women’s soccer team defeated Georgetown, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. With the victory, W&M (15-4-2) advances to the second round and will play Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Tribe took an early 1-0 lead when freshman Kaitlin O’Connor scored on a free kick from about 25 yards out in the fifth minute. It was her third goal in the last four matches.

W&M increased its lead to 2-0 when junior Claire Zimmeck scored with a header in the 60th minute. Junior Abby Lauer struck a free kick from midfield into the box, and Collins headed the ball to Zimmeck on the right side. It was Zimmeck’s team-leading 17th goal of the season.

Georgetown cut the Tribe’s lead in half with a goal in the 78th minute when Sara Jordan scored on a loose ball in front of the goal on the left side. It was just the second goal allowed by the Tribe in its last six matches.

The Hoyas had a few good opportunities down the stretch and nearly evened the score, but the Tribe defense was solid. Daryn Towle had a header sail high in the 88th minute, while Jordan blasted a shot inside the box that went wide right in the final seconds.

Both teams had very few good scoring chances in the first half, as each squad recorded just one shot apiece.

As was the case in the opening period, neither team found many good looks offensively early in the second frame. Zimmeck’s goal 15 minutes into the period was the first shot of the stanza. However, the Fairfax, Va., native nearly tallied her second goal of the night in the 76th minute when she shot over Georgetown’s draw-out keeper, but her attempt from 15 yards out sailed high. Freshman Danielle Axenfeld also had a good look in the 85th minute, but her header was unable to find the back of the net.

Box Score