Nov. 9, 2006
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NCAA First Round - Sat. Nov. 11 - vs. Princeton - 11:00 a.m.
NCAA Second Round - Sun. Nov. 12 - ODU/Princeton vs. Boston University/UConn - 2:00 p.m.
LIVESTATS: Want to see how the Lady Monarchs are doing but can't make it to the game? Watch game stats live with gametracker clicking here.
IT'S A NEW SEASON: The Old Dominion field hockey team makes its 26th appearance at the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when they travel to host Princeton for the first round of tournament action. The Lady Monarchs are the only division I team to have appeared in every single NCAA Tournament since its inception back in 1981. The Lady Monarchs are winners of an NCAA record nine national championships and have advanced to 16 final fours. Old Dominion's last national championship game in 2000 and its last final four appearance occurred last season.
HOW WE GOT HERE: The Lady Monarch field hockey team, ranked as high as third in the STX/NFHCA Poll and second in the Women's Field Hockey.Com Poll during the regular season, received an at-large bid to this year's tournament after falling 1-0 to second seeded James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament. Old Dominion is 19-3 overall with two of the three losses coming at the hands of the tournament's second seed, Maryland. Both losses to the Terps came by 1-0 scores. During the season, Old Dominion outscored their opponents, 82-14, and racked up 12 shutouts including eight against conference competition. Additionally, the Lady Monarchs tackled on of the toughest schedules in the nation which featured 13 contest against ranked opponents, including seven against top ten teams and five against top five squads.
TICKETS: Tickets for both days will be available on the day of the games. Tickets will cost $7 for adults and $5 for children or students with their student ID cards. On Saturday, gates will open at 10 a.m. and tickets will be sold until the completion of the second game. On Sunday, gates will open at 1 p.m. and will be sold until the completion of the game.
BACK FROM THE BEACH: The 2006 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament was held at the U.S. National Training center where Old Dominion defeated Northeastern, 7-0, in the semifinals and fell 1-0 to James Madison in the finals. Against the Huskies , six different Lady Monarchs scored in the victory led by senior midfielder and leading scorer Dana Sensenig with two tallies. Additionally it was Old Dominion's 12th shutout of the season. In the loss to the Dukes, the Lady Monarchs held a 23-1 advantage and 21-1 edge in corners, but it was only one shot the Dukes needed to defeat Old Dominion as the Dukes put away a penalty stroke with 12:52 left in the first half. The Lady Monarchs have won 13 CAA Tournament crowns only failing to garner the championship in 1995 (James Madision), 2003 (Delaware), and 2006 (James Madison).
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Three Lady Monarchs were named to the 2006 CAA All-Tournament team - senior midfielder Dana Sensenig, senior defender Caroline Nichols and sophomore midfielder Denise Admiraal. Sensenig collected two goals in the 7-0 win over Northeastern. Nichols anchored the Lady Monarch defense to its 12th shutout while adding a goal in the 7-0 win over the Huskies. Admiraal also posted a tally in the win over Northeastern and was also among the top shot takers against James Madison with four, including a team-leading three on net.
ALL-CAA TEAMS: Eight Lady Monarchs received post season honors from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) highlighted by Player and Defender of the Year in Caroline Nichols and Coach of the Year in Beth Anders. Nichols was the ninth different ODU player to receive the CAA's top award, but is the first in league history to sweep Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season. Anders meanwhile earned her ninth CAA Coach of the Year distinction. Joining Nichols on the CAA First Team were senior midfielder Dana Sensenig, sophomore midfielder Denise Admiraal, and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll. Sophomore defender Daphne Admiraal and senior forward Darcy Pinchbeck were named to the Second Team All-CAA. Driscoll was joined by forward Titia Beek on the All-Rookie Team.
TAKING THE CONFERENCE BY STORM: Old Dominion went a perfect 8-0 in regular season CAA play in 2006 marking the 12th time the Lady Monarchs have been undefeated in conference action. During the eight league games during the regular season, CAA opposition was outscored 42-2, outshot 204-23 and outcornered 141-16. Including the two CAA Tournament games, CAA opposition was outscored 49-3, outshot 248-26, and outcornered 171-20.
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 second-best defense in the nation only allowing 0.63 goals per game. Only three schools this season have managed to score more than once, Duke in the double overtime first meeting, Virginia, and semifinal opponent Northeastern in a match-up that saw overtime. The Lady Monarchs have posted 12 shutouts, including a streak of six straight before its loss to #1 Maryland. Additionally, Old Dominion shutout all but one CAA opponent during the regular season - the 3-2 overtime win versus Northeastern. At home, Maryland and Northeastern were the only opponents to score on Foreman Field. Driscoll meanwhile leads the nation in goals against average as only 14 opponent shots have gotten past the ODU goalkeeper in 22 games.
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 a NCAA All-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 saw another familair face at Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth. Fightin' Blue Hen assistant coach Dawn Hill (`86) guided ODU to three NCAA titles in 1982, 1983, and 1984 and also served as an assistant coach with the Lady Monarchs. Hill is also an Old Dominion Hall of Fame inductee. Rams' head coach Shelly Behren (`88) helped the Lady Monarchs to the title in 1984 and a runner-up placing in 1985. This weekend, Old Dominion has a chance to see former Honda Award Winner Tiffany Snow (`03), who is an assistant coach with Boston University.
THE WINNINGEST DIVISION I COACH: At the helm of the Old Dominion women's field hockey program is the winnigest Division I coach in history, Beth Anders. To date, Anders boasts a 480-81-7 overall mark and is only one of six coaches overall and active Division I coaches to reach the 400-win milestone. She entered the 2006 season as the all-time winningest Division I coach and third all-time winningest coach in NCAA history.
FORMER LADY MONARCHS IN THE NEWS - NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR: Former Lady Monarch field hockey defender and 2006 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Janelle Engle (Mt. Joy, Pa.) was one of nine finalists for the 2006 Woman of the Year. Since 1991, the award has been presented annually to a senior student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Engle was named the 2006 CAA Player of the Year and earned first team All-American honors by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). She led ODU and the CAA in scoring with 20 goals. She was selected by the ODU Alumni Association as the Female Athlete of the Year and the Norfolk Sports Club presented her with the Tom Scott award as the university's top senior athlete. In the classroom, Engle was a four-time NFHCA All-Academic selection, a USA TODAY All-USA College Academic Team nominee, and was the CAA's Scholar Athlete of the Year. Engle was a co-winner of the prestigious Jack Wilkins/James Howard Female Scholar Athletes of the Year at ODU as she attained a perfect 4.0. A music major, Engle was first violinist in the Deihn String Quartet and concertmaster of the ODU Symphony.