WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer battled back to tie William & Mary twice but a goal in the 88th minute got William & Mary the 3-2 win.
The Tribe got the game-winning goal from Sarah Segan after she controlled a pass from Elysse Branton, who sped up the right side of the field, and Segan used her second touch to break the tie with her second of the night.
William & Mary (3-0), who recieved votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, struck first through Sami Grasso when she put in a rebound in the 25th minute. The Tribe controlled the opening minutes and had chances outside of Grasso's goal.
Fairleigh Dickinson (1-2) got back level when
Jessi Reinhardt notched her first goal of the season when bent in a corner kick from the left side with her left foot over the keeper in the 37th minute. The two teams would head to the locker room tied at one.
"Felt that in the first half we played too respectful of their game. We sat deeper on defense and because of that let [William & Mary] inside the attacking third of the field," said head coach
Eric Teepe postgame. "We adjusted to that in the second half and put a lot more pressure on them."
Inside the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Tribe restored its one-goal lead when Segan sent a shot past
Amanda Fitzgerald in the Knights goal from the top of 18.
On the hour mark, the Knights tied the game at two when substitute
Meghan Griffin capitalized on a William & Mary defensive miscue and poked a shot past Katelyn Briguglio that hit the inside of the left post and rolled over the goal line.
William & Mary outshot the Knights 21-10 on the night and had five shots to take the lead after the Knights tied and before the game winner from Segan. Grasso hit the post in the 65th minute then Fitzgerald stopped Rachel More in the 68th.
Reinhardt put a shot wide in the 71st minute from a distance and
Daria Jones went over the bar less than 30 seconds later. Reinhardt had four of the Knights seven shots on goal on the night.
Fitzgerald finished the night with nine saves – second time this season the sophomore has turned away that many shots.
Teepe added, "We still need to be sharper defensively and stay calm in the natural flow of the game. [I thought it was] A fair result but we could have done better with it. To play a team that is receiving votes in the national coaches' poll down to the wire says a lot about us when we play at a certain level."
The Knights return to action on Sunday morning – 11 a.m. -- for a home tilt with Rider at University Stadium
