Towson Field Hockey Falls to William & Mary, 2-1, After Surrendering Second-Half Lead
Towson University field hockey carried a one-goal advantage into halftime Friday evening, but William & Mary scored twice in the third quarter to rally past the Tigers, 2-1, at Busch Field in Williamsburg, Virginia. Towson graduate transfer Delfina Larripa provided the Tigers’ lone goal, continuing her strong stretch of offensive production. The loss dropped Towson to 4-7 overall and 0-3 in Coastal Athletic Association play.
The Tigers actually generated more shots than William & Mary, finishing with a 10-8 advantage, while both teams put four attempts on goal. Towson was limited to two penalty corners compared with four for the Tribe, however, and William & Mary made its best third-quarter opportunities count. Tribe goalkeeper Alexandra de Jesus stopped three of Towson’s four shots on goal.
Larripa puts Towson in front
Towson struck first with 1:13 remaining in the opening quarter when Larripa scored her fifth goal of the season. Freshman Else Wismans picked up the assist, giving her the first point of her collegiate career. The goal extended Larripa’s point streak to four consecutive games after she entered the weekend already among the CAA’s more productive offensive players.
The Tigers continued to create opportunities during the second quarter and earned the first penalty corner of the game approximately five minutes into the period. Anouk Westerink generated a shot from the opportunity, but de Jesus made the save to preserve Towson’s one-goal advantage. Neither side scored during the second quarter, allowing the Tigers to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Towson’s first-half performance was especially encouraging because William & Mary entered the contest needing a CAA victory of its own. The Tigers held the Tribe without a shot during the entire second quarter and owned a 5-1 advantage in total shots through halftime. Towson appeared to have control of the game, but that changed almost immediately after the break.
William & Mary flips the game
William & Mary needed just 28 seconds of the third quarter to erase Towson’s lead. Senior Josie Mae Gruendel scored at the 30:28 mark to tie the game at 1-1, suddenly putting the Tigers under pressure despite their strong first half. Gruendel entered the weekend as William & Mary’s leading scorer, and she delivered when the Tribe desperately needed an offensive spark.
Towson did not immediately fold following the equalizer and generated several chances during the third quarter. Wismans had an opportunity turned away by de Jesus as the Tigers attempted four shots during the period. William & Mary eventually seized control late in the quarter, however, with Callia Uviedo scoring at 43:17 to give the Tribe its first lead of the evening.
Uviedo’s goal was particularly significant for William & Mary because it was the first goal of her collegiate career. It also completed a dramatic turnaround in a quarter in which the Tribe outshot Towson 5-4 after managing only one shot during the entire first half. Towson entered the fourth quarter trailing 2-1 despite still holding an overall advantage in shots.
Redding keeps Towson alive
Goalkeeper Riley Redding gave the Tigers an opportunity to rally with one of Towson’s biggest defensive plays of the game. William & Mary received a penalty stroke approximately four minutes into the fourth quarter, but Redding made the save to prevent the Tribe from extending its advantage. It marked the first penalty-stroke save of Redding’s collegiate career.
Towson remained within one goal and continued searching for an equalizer as time wound down. Skylar Santucci generated one of the Tigers’ best late opportunities with approximately three minutes remaining, but de Jesus made the save. William & Mary successfully protected the 2-1 advantage through the final minutes to secure its first CAA victory of the season.
Redding finished with two saves while allowing two goals, with both coming during the decisive third quarter. De Jesus made three saves for William & Mary and earned the victory. The Tribe finished the evening 2-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while Towson left Williamsburg still searching for its first CAA victory.
Larripa continues strong stretch
The loss overshadowed another productive performance from Larripa, who has developed into one of Towson’s most consistent offensive threats. She scored three times in Towson’s 4-3 victory over Penn on Sept. 20, contributed an assist against Fairfield and scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Maine before finding the cage again against William & Mary. Her goal Friday extended her scoring contribution to four consecutive games.
Towson has also received meaningful contributions from a young group that could become an important part of the program’s future. Wismans’ first collegiate point continued that development after she joined Stevie Schultz, Ann Njoroge and Olivia Thunnissen among four true freshmen who started against Maine. All four freshmen had appeared in each of Towson’s first 10 games entering the William & Mary weekend.
The frustrating part for Towson will be how close the Tigers came to turning Friday’s game into their first conference victory. They outshot William & Mary 10-8 and put the same number of attempts on goal, while carrying a lead for more than half the contest. A difficult five-second-half-minute stretch ultimately proved decisive, with William & Mary turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage before Towson could respond.
MSB Take
Towson had enough opportunities to win this game, which makes the 2-1 result particularly disappointing. The Tigers played a strong opening half, received another goal from Larripa and even got a huge penalty-stroke save from Redding when William & Mary had an opportunity to put the game away. What Towson could not overcome was the third quarter, when the Tribe scored twice and completely changed a game the Tigers had controlled through the opening 30 minutes.
There are still positives for Towson, especially with Larripa continuing to produce and several freshmen receiving significant playing time. The Tigers are showing that they can create opportunities against conference opponents, but turning those opportunities into goals remains critical as CAA play continues. Towson’s next challenge following the William & Mary loss was an Oct. 4 road matchup against VCU as the Tigers continued their four-game road swing.
