TOWSON, Md. ? Freshman forward Kaysi Ward scored a goal for the third straight game for the Tigers (4-13-1, 1-8-1), but William & Mary (13-5-1, 8-1-1) used a strong second half offensive performance to defeat the Tigers by a 4-1 margin in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Towson Center Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Freshman Molly Kaye and senior Claire Zimmeck each scored a goal and added an assist as the Tribe earned their seventh win in the last eight games. With the Tribe's win along with a 2-1 loss by Hofstra against James Madison, William & Mary moves into a tie for first place with the Pride in the CAA standings. The regular season champion will host the CAA semi-finals and championship game in two weeks.
“We created good chances against a very good William & Mary defense today,” Towson Coach Greg Paynter said. “It was just a matter of finishing those chances. We have been playing better than our results are showing.”
The Tribe took a quick 1-0 lead just 5:06 into the first half when freshman Diana Weigel scored her fourth goal of the season by converting a rebound of a shot by junior forward Kellie Jenkins that hit the left goal post.
With 25:28 remaining in the second half, the Tribe upped the advantage to 2-0 when sophomore Katy Winsper scored the first goal of her college career off a pass from senior defender Meredith Brown.
Less than nine minutes later, the Tigers narrowed the deficit to 2-1 when Ward tallied her team-leading third goal of the season, a header from a pass from junior defender Ashley Ventura.
However, the Tribe secured the victory with two goals in the final five minutes. With 3:44 remaining, Kaye converted a cross from Zimmeck for her first career goal. Zimmeck gave William & Mary a three-goal edge with 1:04 left when she took a header pass from Kaye and scored into an open goal after getting past freshman goalkeeper Jocelyn Papciak.
Papciak recorded a season-high 13 saves in the loss for the Tigers while senior goalkeeper Meghan Walker had four saves for William & Mary, which had a commanding 31-10 shots advantage. The Tribe also had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.
The Tigers will finish their season on Thursday afternoon when they host George Mason University at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, the Tribe will host Old Dominion in the regular season finale on Thursday night.
Game Notes: Ward scored a goal for the third straight game, becoming the first Towson player to score in three straight games since Annie Hay had 4 goals in 3 games during the 2004 season ... Papciak had the highest single-game save total for the Tigers since September 2, 2006 when Brandi Daniels had 13 saves in a 0-0 tie against Maryland.
Goals: W&M ? Diana Weigel (5:06), Katy Winsper (64:32), Molly Kaye (86:16), Claire Zimmeck (88:56); TOW ?
Kaysi Ward (73:24).
Assists: W&M ? Krissy Vornadore 1, Kellie Jenkins 1, Meredith Brown 1, Claire Zimmeck 1, Molly Kaye 1; TOW ?
Ashley Ventura 1.
Saves: W&M ? Meghan Walker 4 (90:00, 1 goals allowed); TOW ?
Jocelyn Papciak 13 (90:00, 4 goals allowed).
Shots: W&M ? 31; TOW ? 10.
Corner Kicks: W&M ? 6; TOW ? 3.
Attendance: 203.
