Williamsburg, VA - In a thrilling contest from the opening whistle, the Hofstra field hockey team suffered a 3-2 shootout defeat to William & Mary Friday night from Busch Stadium to open Colonial Athletic Association play for both teams.

Hofstra moves to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in the CAA following tonight's result, while the Tribe picks up its first win of the season to move to 1-6 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

The Pride got off to a hot start with a goal inside the first four minutes of the game. Freshman Simryn Desai juked around a William & Mary defender at midfield to start a Hofstra counterattack, and she centered the ball to junior Mercedes Currie, who was waiting unmarked at the center of the arc. Currie maneuvered around the charging goalkeeper and scored her fifth goal of the season 3:19 into the game.

Three minutes later, William & Mary's Jayden Moon forced a Hofstra turnover deep inside the Pride's attacking end, and she fed Lauren Curran inside Hofstra's arc, and she snuck it past junior Merlijn van der Vegt and in at the near post.

Following scoreless second and third quarters, the Tribe got its first lead of the game off a penalty corner opportunity. Cara Menges sent a low shot to the left of the Hofstra goal, but Kellen Richbourg got her stick to the ball at the last minute to redirect it behind van der Vegt and in two minutes into the fourth quarter.

William & Mary's lead would be short-lived as the Pride evened the score off the stick of talented freshman Eline Oldeman. Hofstra cleared the ball after a mad scramble in front of van der Vegt's net, and Desai hit Oldeman with a lengthy pass from the Hofstra end. Oldeman kept the pass inbounds and entered the shooting arc before unleashing a hard backhanded shot over the outstretched blocker of William & Mary's Maddie George and in off the far corner to level the score at 2-2 with just over nine minutes left in regulation. It was Oldeman's fourth goal of the season.

Following two scoreless overtime periods, the game advanced into the first shootout round of six shots. Senior Cami Larsson placed her shot just past George's leg and in for the opener, and van der Vegt stonewalled Moon's shot. Sophomore Cami Valor had her shot stopped by George, while van der Vegt ended the second round with forcing a wide shot by Curran. Senior Mercy Jasterzenski fired her shot off the outside of the goal, and Sally Snead beat van der Vegt at the near post. Entering the fourth round, Oldeman beat George with a backhand shot, and Tabby Billingham narrowly beat van der Vegt. Freshman Lieke Gorsse was denied by George, and Pyper Friedman beat van der Vegt for the winner.

Hofstra continues its CAA schedule with a road contest against James Madison on Sunday, October 3, at 1 p.m.

NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 7-16 all-time against William & Mary. This is William & Mary's fifth consecutive win over the Pride.
-Freshman Simryn Desai finished with two assists. It marks the third time this season a Hofstra player had multiple assists in a single game.
-Merlijn van der Vegt made five saves. The Dutch junior now has 195 career saves.
-Hofstra was outshot, 18-10. Hofstra had only registered four shots entering the fourth quarter.