The UNC Wilmington women’s soccer team opened the 2009 conference slate with a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to defending Colonial Athletic Association champions William & Mary before turning it around Sunday with a 3-1 win at Old Dominion.

In a contest largely dominated by the Seahawks last Thursday, William & Mary took a vital lead in the 54th minute through freshman midfielder Cortlyn Bristol. Capitalizing on a defensive give-away by the Seahawks, Bristol cut into the box from the left wing and fired a shot to the top right corner, beating Seahawk goalkeeper Chandler Follett.

“If anything, this teaches us that we can’t make mistakes,” UNCW Paul Cairney said of the goal.

Bristol’s strike was enough to ensure the Tribe left the Port City with a win in their pocket.

“It was a typical CAA game,” Cairney said. “These are always close match-ups and the team that takes their chances are the ones that come out on top.”

While the Seahawks were dominating from a possession standpoint, scoring chances were rare. Sophomore midfielder Erin Pardini went closest for the Seahawks, forcing a key save from William & Mary keeper Grace Barnard in each half.

Pardini’s near misses were as good as it got for the Seahawks as William & Mary finished with a narrow advantage in total shots, 11-9.

“We have to find the net,” Cairney said. “We created some decent chances, now we just have to take them.

The loss meant the Seahawks’ winless record against the Tribe, an established CAA power, continues to stay intact.

“It’s really frustrating,” senior defender Heather Froehlich said. “They’ve won nine of the last 10 conference championships, and we should’ve beaten them.”

The road for the Seahawks will not get any easier as they now must prepare for tough trips to other perennial CAA powers in James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth followed by home tilts with Towson and George Mason.

“The effort’s there. We just have to limit our mistakes and focus on not giving the ball away on defense,” Froehlich said.