Nov. 14, 2003
DURHAM, NC -- The Old Dominion field hockey team begins its quest as it attempts to bring home an unprecedented 10th national title when the 2003 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament begins on Saturday, November 15th. The Lady Monarchs open first round action at 2:00 p.m. against Richmond.
The Spiders received an at-large bid after capturing the Atlantic-10 Championship with a 3-1 victory over Temple, but then suffering a 2-1 loss in the NCAA Play-In Game to California. Richmond holds an 18-4 overall mark with the four losses coming against Duke, California, and overtime defeats at the hands of Lafayette and James Madison. Common opponents between the Spiders and Lady Monarchs include victories over Stanford, William & Mary, Virginia, Towson, and Virginia Commonwealth.
Leading the Spiders on the turf will be sophomore defender Allie Howard, who checks into the NCAA Tournament with 42 points on 15 goals and 12 assists. Sophomore forward Whitney Wells and freshman midfielder Inge van Bogerijen enter this weekend as Richmond's second leading scorers, each recorded 23 points thus far. Wells as accumulated 10 goals and three assists, while van Bogerijen owns nine goals and five assists. In net, the Lady Monarchs will be looking to get back sophomore netminder Michelle Swartz. Swartz holds a 1.08 goals against average, a .727 save percentage, and has posted eight shutouts to date.
The Spiders have a formidable opponent ahead of them in the Lady Monarchs as Old Dominion has appeared in all 23 NCAA Tournaments since the very first championship back in 1981. Old Dominion has also made 15 Final Four appearances, with the most recent last season.
Richmond and Old Dominion are not strangers to each other in tournament play. Just last season the two teams met in first round action in Norfolk at Foreman Field. The Lady Monarchs raced out to a 2-0 lead within the first minute and a half of the opening whistle as current Lady Monarch sophomore Rosalinda Banuelos (Escondido, CA) scored a mere 43 seconds into the game and under a minute later former Lady Monarch and 2002 Honda Award winner Tiffany Snow (Escondido, CA) sailed in the eventual game-winner on one of her game-high three goals. Old Dominion outshot the Spiders 16-6, allowing Richmond to fire off just one shot in the first half of play. The Lady Monarchs also out cornered Richmond 13-2.
For more information on the tournament and view live stats for all the first and second round field hockey action in Durham, check out Game Day Central.