Oct. 4, 2006
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Friday, October 6 - at Virginia Commonwealth
Sunday, October 8 - at Delaware
ON THE ROAD ONE MORE TIME: The Old Dominion field hockey team hits the road one last time this weekend when they travel to Virginia Commonwealth and Delaware. This will be the final road weekend for the Lady Monarch this regular season as they begin a six-game home stand to close out the 2006 regular season. To date, ODU has gone 7-1 when away from the friendly confines of Foreman Field. Last week, the Lady Monarchs closed out a five-game road swing by coming home for the first-time in 20 days for a 7-0 shutout win over Towson. When the Lady Monarchs return home next week, they will at Foreman Field for three straight week before heading off to the CAA Tournament. While considered a "road" or "neutral" site game, the tournament will not be too far from campus as it is as the National Training Center in Virginia Beach.
TAKING THE CONFERENCE BY STORM: With two conference wins last weekend over James Madison and Towson, the Lady Monarchs enter the weekend with a 3-0 record, tied with William & Mary for first place in the CAA. . In their three CAA contests to date, the Lady Monarchs have not let an opponent score while collecting 13 goals of their own. Additionally, Old Dominion has outshot their CAA opponents 76-9 and outcornered them 76-9.
LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE "D": Redshirt goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll and the Old Dominion defense continue to rack up the shutouts. With last week's 1-0 win at #17 James Madison and a 7-0 home victory against Towson, the Lady Monarchs have posted four straight shutouts and six total on the season. At home, Old Dominion has yet to allow an opponet score on Foreman Field.
THIS IS HOW WE START: Old Dominion is off to a 11-1 start, the best start by the program since 2000. That season the Lady Monarchs won the first two games of the season before falling to Maryland. The loss against the Terps would be the only that season as the Lady Monarchs rattled off 23 straight victories and brought home its last national championship. The 2006 campaign kicked off with a 3-0 start, its best start to a season since they started off the 2002 Final Four season 3-0 as well. Again it was Maryland who haulted the winning streak this season and also back in 2002.
NICO VAN NISPEN NAMED CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore midfielder Nico van Nispen was named the CAA Player of the Week after collecting seven points off three goals and an assists in the Lady Monarchs' 2-0 week during the week ending October 2nd. Van Nispen registered both game-winners against #17 James Madison and Towson as Old Dominion posted its eighth straight victory and fourth straight shutout. On Friday night, the sophomore midfielder tallied the lone goal in the James Madison victory and van Nispen was one of four different Lady Monarch goal scorers and one of two multiple goal scorers versus Towson.
HATS OFF: Sophomore Denise Admiraal became the first Lady Monarch to collect a hat trick this season as the midfielder captured three goals as one of four goal scorers in last Sunday's 7-0 win against Towson. The hat trick was Admiraal's second of her career with the first against Delaware in last season's 6-2 win.
TRYING NOT TO LOOK TO FAR AHEAD BUT...: Old Dominion returns home next weekend and will look to avenge its only loss of the 2006 season. Old Dominion suffered a 1-0 defeat on September 4th at No. 1 Maryland in what has become one of the premiere match-ups in collegiate field hockey.
FORMER LADY MONARCHS IN THE NEWS - WORLD CUP: USA Field Hockey and women's national team coach Lee Bodimeade have announced that three former Lady Monarchs will be among the 18-member team to represent the USA at next month's Samsung World Cup in Madrid, Spain. Honda Award winner Tiffany Snow, All-American Angie Loy, and defensive specialist Melissa Leonetti will try to help the US team bring home gold beginning on September 27th. The USA will fell to Argentina, 2-1 and Australia, 3-1, but drew 0-0 with Korea and picked up a 3-1 win over South Africa and 1-0 win over Korea to advance to the 5th-8th playoff game. Loy was one of three goal scorers in the win against South Africa. Team USA returns to action on Friday.
FACES ON THE BENCH: Look over to the opponent bench and you just might see a familiar face. The first four weeks of the season saw an Old Dominion tie on its opponent coaching staff. Penn State, who ODU opened the season against, is coached by Char Morrett, a former ODU assistant, Maryland assistant Marybeth Freeman (`03) was NCAA Tournament Team goalkeeper, Lynn Farquhar (`04) returned to Foreman Field as an assistant coach with the University of Richmond, and Tara Herrmann (`03) serves as a volunteer assistant with the Duke program, while Blue Devil head coach Beth Bozman spent a season as a graduate assistant with the ODU program. Old Dominion will see another familair face this weekend at Delaware. Fightin' Blue Hen assistant coach Dawn Hill (`86) helped ODU to three NCAA titles in 1982, 1983, and 1984 and also served as an assistant coach with the Lady Monarchs.
LAST TIME VS. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Old Dominion's Janelle Engle collected a career-high four goals to lead the eighth-ranked Lady Monarch field hockey team to a 5-0 shutout victory over Virginia Commonwealth on a soggy Foreman Field back on October 7th. All four of Engle's goals came off of penalty corners set up by Dana Sensenig and Caroline Nichols. Engle's first goal and the game-winner game came 14 minutes into the contest. The Mt. Joy, Pa native then gave the Lady Monarchs a 2-0 edge less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Denise Admiraal then scored 37 seconds later to give Old Dominion a 3-0 lead at the half. The second half saw Engle score both goals, one at the 47th minute and her final tally of the evening at the 55th minute. Old Dominion outshot the Rams 20-3 and outcornered them, 20-1. The Lady Monarchs registered 11 penalty corners in the first half alone. Virginia Commonwealth used a trio of goalkeepers in the cage. Starter Brittany LoVullo played the first half making four saves, while Becca Leuzzi and Laura Baker combined for four saves in the second half. Old Dominion's Mary Cate Gordon needed to make only one save on the evening, stopping the lone Ram shot on net in the second half by Amy Gallivan.
LAST TIME VS. DELAWARE: The eighth-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team won its seventh straight game as they defeated 2004 CAA Champion Delaware, 6-2, at Foreman Field on October 9th. Three different Lady Monarchs registered a goal in the victory led by Denise Admiraal with her first career hat trick. Dana Sensenig collected two tallies, while Jennifer Angat also had a hand in the scoring column. The Lady Monarchs wasted no time in establishing a lead. A mere 1:44 into the contest Admiraal picked up the first of her three goals as Anna Rogers fed the ball to her for a shot from the right side of the cage. Delaware tied the game at 1-1 in the game's 22nd minute. Amber Deimler drove into the circle from the left side of the field drawing out Old Dominion goalkeeper Mary Cate Gordon. As Gordon attempted to kick the ball out of play, Deimler passed to Kaili Kao who had a wide-open opportunity on goal. Old Dominion established a 2-1 lead going into half-time. Sensenig gave the Lady Monarchs the one goal edge entering the second half as she scored among a scramble of players at the 26th minute of action. The second half started out just like the first half did for the Lady Monarchs with Old Dominion scoring early. Old Dominion scored four unanswered goals within the first six and half minutes of the second half to establish the lead for good. Admiraal collected back-to-back goals with her first being the game-winner, her second of the year. Angat tipped in a pass from Nicolien van Nispen (Bilthoven, Holland) at the 40th minute and a minute later Sensenig put away her 12th goal of the 2005 season. Delaware managed one goal in the second half. Right after the whistle on Sensenig's goal, the Blue Hens broke away from the Lady Monarch defense. Katie Evans fired a hard shot into the Lady Monarch cage at the 41st minute for the game's final goal. Blue Hen goalkeeper Megan Allen had a busy day registering 14 saves, including 12 in the second half. ODU's Gordon made only one stop in the second half.
COMING UP: Old Dominion comes home and stays home until the end of the season. They host #1 Maryland looking to avenge its only loss of the season on Saturday, October 14th, and then host #5 Duke on Sunday. On Saturday, the Blue Devils will takeon William & Mary in a neutral site game following the meeting with the Terps.