Tribe Lax to Open CAA Schedule

W&M Travels to James Madison, Hosts George Mason

04/04/08 3:50PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women’s lacrosse team will open its most crucial stretch of the season this weekend, as the team will begin league play against a pair of nationally ranked squads in No. 19 James Madison (Friday, April 4) and ninth-ranked George Mason University (Sunday, April 6).

Riding a two-game winning streak into this evening’s competition in Harrisonburg, William and Mary will be looking to knock off its second ranked opponent in as many weeks, as the Tribe defeated a then-ninth-ranked Stanford squad last Tuesday. This evening’s contest against James Madison has been moved from the originally scheduled playing field (a natural grass surface) to the artificial surface located just to the west (inside of the field hockey and track complex, situated just adjacent to Interstate 81) due to expected harsh weather in the valley. William and Mary carries a three-game winning streak against JMU in the evening and will be searching for its second-consecutive upset win over the squad, as the Tribe defeated a then-ninth ranked James Madison contingent last April.

The team’s home conference opener against George Mason is due to start at 1:00 pm on Sunday at Albert-Daly Field. The College has split its previous two meetings with the Patriots and holds an 11-6 all-time advantage in the series. The Patriots are led by 1995 William and Mary graduate Amy Bokker (formerly Umbach). While Bokker has done an outstanding job of building the George Mason program into a annual conference contender, she has won only one time in her previous five trips back to her alma mater (with the win coming during the 2000 season).

If the Tribe were to sweep the two games on the weekend, it would mark the first time the squad has started with a 2-0 mark in league play since the 2001 season (one that saw the squad go onto the NCAAs) and give the team its first four-game winning streak since 2000.