On Friday, Sept. 10 the field hockey team fell to William and Mary but not without putting up a fight.

The final score of the match was 4-3, which by the looks of the first few minutes of play would probably not have been expected.

The William and Mary Tribe came out strong early in the game, scoring three goals just 12 minutes into playing time. The second and third goals were only 90 seconds apart from one another.

However, rather than discourage the ‘Cats, the performance by the green and gold motivated Villanova to play harder.

The team battled back and took advantage of opportunities by capitalizing on the Tribe’s mistakes. The Wildcats’ effort paid off.

By the end of the first half, the score was tied.

In the 20th minute of the game, Megan Foster put Villanova on the board with help from Lauren Campenelli and Vanessa Pizzulli.

Rory Rogers scored the second goal for Villanova, which was also her second goal of the season. After the initial penalty shot, Rogers rebounded the ball into the net. Seven minutes were left until the end of the half, and the Cats still trailed, 3-2.

With only two minutes left in the first half, the team was awarded another penalty corner and given another chance to tie the game. Foster pulled through for her teammates as she scored another goal, again assisted by Campenelli and Pizzulli.

The Tribe started the second half strong, scoring two and a half minutes into play. This early goal scored by sophomore foward Gina Cimarelli eventually became the game winner. It was Cimarell’s first goal of the season.

The Wildcat offense had some good runs but could not come up with another goal.

Led by senior captains Vanessa Pizzulli and Simone Schunk, the defense also made some impressive plays and continuously shut down the Tribe’s scoring opportunities.

“Vanessa and Simone are very vocal,” teammate Megan Ryan said. “That leads to their success.”

In addition to the two captains, goalie Eric Scott also had a solid performance. Scott collected eight saves in the game.

The team’s next game takes place at home on Sunday, at 1 p.m. The Wildcats will host Big East contender Connecticut. This is the squad’s first Big East game of the season.