WILLIAMSBURG, VA. - The Monmouth University women's soccer team dropped its 2009 season opening match at perennial CAA power William and Mary, 3-1, on Friday night at Albert-Daly Field.

The Tribe, who corralled a 3-0 advantage at the half, improves to 1-1 on the season, while the Hawks stand at 0-1.

"Unfortunately, we did not battle enough in the first half and learned a tough lesson early on in the season," said head coach Krissy Turner, who falls to 9-3 in season openers in her 12th season at Monmouth. "The second half was a different half for our team and we moved in the right direction, creating several great chances."

William and Mary notched its first score of the game in the fourth minute, as Mallory Schaffer beat Monmouth goalkeeper Lia Fierro for the early advantage.

At 25:01, Kellie Jenkins notched a goal from 10 yards out to give the Tribe a two-goal lead, while Erin Liberatore pushed the edge to 3-0 at the 36:52 mark.

Monmouth pulled within 3-1 in the 63rd minute, when Lopez notched her first goal of the season off assists from classmate BrieAnne Nomejko and junior Mary Wilks. Lopez's goal, her 25th career tally, gave her 69 career points, moving her into a tie for 10th place all-time in Monmouth's Women's Soccer scoring history.

With 18 minutes remaining in the match, William and Mary cleared a ball off its goal line, maintaining its 3-1 lead.

Fierro made six saves in goal for the Hawks, while her counterpart, Grace Barnard, made five stops.

The Tribe outshot Monmouth, 14-8, and held a 7-3 edge in corner kick opportunities.

Monmouth returns to action on September 4th, when the Hawks host Seton Hall on The Great Lawn at 3:30 p.m.