Oct. 26, 2006
Saturday, October 28 - vs. #8 North Carolina
Sunday, October 29 - vs. William & Mary
SCHOLARSHIP GAME: The Old Dominion field hockey team will take to the turf in the annual Field Hockey Scholarship Game when the Lady Monarchs take on North Carolina. Admission is five dollars with the proceeds to benefit the Intercollegiate Foundation for Field Hockey Scholarships. One lucky fan will win free roundtrip airfare courtesy of AirTran Airways.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Five seniors will be honored prior to the regular season finale versus William & Mary Sunday. Anna Rogers, Julia Muldrow, Darcy Pinchbeck, Dana Sensenig, and Caroline Nichols will be playing in their final regular season game at Foreman Field. Together, these seniors have compiled a 62-26 record with three CAA titles and four NCAA appearances, including a run to the Final Four last year.
WINDING DOWN: It's the last week of the regular season and the Lady Monarchs will close out both the non-conference and conference schedules. The non-conference slate ends with #8 North Carolina as the teams close out a home-and-home series with the Tar Heels. Old Dominion defeated the Tar Heels 3-1 in the first meeting of the season in Chapel Hill and are looking to sweep the season series for the first time since 2000. The conference schedule closes with William & Mary as the Lady Monarchs look to end the regular season with a perfect CAA record for the 12th time in history.
TAKING THE CONFERENCE BY STORM: Through the seven games of CAA play, only Notheastern has scored on Old Dominion with the Lady Monarchs defeating the Huskies, 3-2, in overtime. To date CAA opposition has been outscored 34-2, outshot 175-22 and outcornered 127-16.
LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE "D": Redshirt goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll and the Old Dominion defense continue are making it awfully hard for the opposition to score. Old Dominion currently boasts the top-ranked defense in the nation only allowing 0.65 goals per game. Only three schools this season have managed to score more than once, Duke in the double overtime first meeting, Virginia, and Northeastern in a overtime contest. The Lady Monarchs have posted ten shutouts, including a streak of six straight before its loss to #1 Maryland. At home, Maryland and Northeastern have been the only opponents to score on Foreman Field. Driscoll meanwhile leads the nation in goals against average as only 12 opponent shots have gotten past the ODU goalkeeper in 18 games.
WAITING FOR A SEED: With a win against the Tribe on Sunday the Lady Monarchs can clinch the 2006 CAA regular season title and a number one seed at the 2006 CAA Tournament. Or it could come earlier if James Madison loses to Hofstra on Friday night. James Madison is currently second with a 5-1 league record and two games to go. The Dukes meet the Pride on Friday and travel to Northeastern Sunday.
LET'S GO TO THE BEACH: It's getting time for the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The tournament will feature the league's top six seeds with the first two teams, including Old Dominion, receiving a bye. The three seed and six seed will square off along with the fourth and fifth seeds facing each other in quarterfinal matches at the site of the highest seed. The winners will join the top two finishers at the National Training Center in Virginia Beach. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, November 4th with the winner of the 4/5 game will meeting the top seed at noon followed by the 3/6 winner facing the second seed at 2:30 p.m. The winners will have a shot at the 2006 title in the championship game to be held on Sunday, November 5th at 1:00 p.m. Admission prices are $5 for adults, $3 for youth, and free admission for students with ID. A festival pass is available to gain entry to both the field hockey and men's and women's soccer championships being held at the Sportsplex right next to the National Training Center. The festival pass is $20 for adults, $15 for youth, and $50 for a family four pack.
LAST TIME VS. NORTH CAROLINA: The third-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team won its third straight contest and picked up its second win over a top ten opponent as they handed the fourth ranked North Carolina Tar Heels a 3-1 loss at Francis E. Henry Stadium on September 16th. The loss was the first for the Tar Heels this season as they had opened up the season on a six-game win streak. Old Dominion scored first on an unassisted shot by freshman Hanna Warren with just over three minutes to play in the first half as the Lady Monarch ended the half up 1-0. The goal was Warren's first collegiate tally of her career. The Tar Heels evened the score less than 10 minutes into second half. On a penalty corner, Hilary Hartman's initial shot was blocked into the air. Freshman Illse Davids batted it down and shot the ball past for her second goal of the season. The Lady Monarchs went ahead for good with 12:11 remaining in the game when sophomore Denise Admiraal grabbed the ball near the goal after a UNC save and got it past Tar Heel goalkeeper Brianna O'Donnell. The Lady Monarchs' final score game two minutes later, when senior Dana Sensenig sent a penalty stroke into the left side of the cage. After a fairly even first half with seven shots for ODU and six for UNC, the Lady Monarchs outshot the Tar Heels 8-2 in the second half. Old Dominion finished with five corners to UNC's two. Redshirt freshman Kelly Driscoll had three saves, while O'Donnell finished with six.
LAST TIME VS. WILLIAM & MARY: The top seeded Old Dominion field hockey team headed off to the CAA Championship finale as they defeated fifth seeded William & Mary, 3-1, in a 2006 semifinal match-up back on November 5th, 2005. Old Dominion got goals from a trio of All-CAA honorees to defeat William & Mary 3-1. Player of the Year Janelle Engle and Dana Sensenig each scored their eighteenth goals of the season, while Daphne Admiraal chipped in one of her own. Kim Hedley netted the Tribe's lone goal. Sensenig got the Lady Monarchs started early when she gained possession of the ball just outside the circle and weaved her way through the William & Mary defense before pushing it past Tribe goalkeeper Gwen Hunter, who made six saves in the game. About ten minutes later, a William & Mary defender was able to deflect an Engle shot away from the net, but Admiraal was there waiting to put it back in past the recovering Tribe defense. Early in the second half, Sensenig passed the ball in from a penalty corner to junior Caroline Nichols, who set it up for Engle to fire in for the Lady Monarchs' third goal. A few minutes later, Hedley managed to get the Tribe on the board when she put in a rebound of her own shot, but it was too little, too late as Old Dominion held on for the victory.