April 5, 2007
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team opens up Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action this weekend hosting Drexel and Hofstra. The Lady Monarch enter the weekend having ended non-conference competition on Wednesday with a 10-7 loss to fifth-ranked Virginia, in their closest contest with the Cavaliers since 1999. Old Dominion holds a 3-4 overall mark with all four losses coming at the hands of oppponents ranked in the national polls, including two in the top five. The Lady Monarchs are led by a a pair of seniors in midfielders Caroline Jacobs and Katie Veneziale. Both check in with 18 points with Jacobs registering 15 points and three assists and Veneziale collecting 11 points and seven assists. Jacobs also leads the teams in groundballs (27) and caused turnovers (17), while Veneziale leads her team in the draw control category (20). Junior Kelly Kimener and sophomore Jessica Noone are next on the stat sheet. Kimener has racked up 12 goals and four assists, while Noone is close behind with 12 goals and three assists. In net, junior Sara Larson has started all seve games and is posting a 11.09 goals against average and .486 save percentage. She stopped a career-high 17 shots in Wednesday's loss to the Cavaliers.
SERIES VS. DREXEL: Old Dominion is 2-3 all-time versus the Dragons.
ABOUT DREXEL: The Dragons enter Foreman Field with a 7-2 overall mark and 1-0 record in the CAA coming off a 17-6 victory over Bucknell on Wednesday. Drexel's two losses include a 12-4 season opening setback to No. 20 Penn and an overtime 11-10 loss against conference rival Hofstra. The Dragons are led by senior midfielder Kerry Kelly with 20 goals, 18 assists, and 56 points. Senior midfielder Emily Hoesch is close behind with 37 points coming from 28 goals and nine assists. Hoesch currently leads the league in goals per game, while Kerry leads the conference in assists per game. In goal, sophomore Lauren LaBella has started all nine of the Dragon's contests collecting a .634 save percentage and 5.21 goals against average. Sophomore Rachael Behrndt has also seen action in seven games as a reserve in between the pipes. She holds a 9.51 goals against average and .441 save percentage.
LAST TIME VS. DREXEL: Drexel scored the game's first 14 goals en-route to the Dragons' 16-7 win over Old Dominion back on April 14 of last season. Caroline Jacobs led the Lady Monarchs in scoring with her third straight hat trick and former Lady Monarch Melody Shotwell added in two assists. The first 11 minutes of the game failed to produce a goal as both teams had multiple opportunities to open the game's scoring but were turned away by good goalkeeping on both ends. Finally, Emily Hoesch found a hole in the Lady Monarchs' defense and scored unassisted at 18:48. Once again, both defenses were stingy as six minutes passed before the game's next goal was scored. Katie Bradley scored with 12:07 remaining in the first half before Gwenna Johnson picked up a ground ball near midfield and dodged a pair of Old Dominion defenders and scored. Drexel would go on to score five more unanswered goals in the half while Lauren LaBella turned away eight Lady Monarch shots as she held a team scoreless for a half for the third team this season. Drexel's offense returned after the intermission to score the game's next six goals. The final tally of the run, Hoesch's fifth of the game, gave Drexel a 14-0 lead. LaBella left the game after 48:28 after posting 13 saves and allowing just two goals. She also racked up a career-high four ground balls. The Dragons' defense held the Lady Monarchs scoreless for the game's first 43:28.Old Dominion got onto the board with 16:32 remaining in the game with a Sigrid Paulus goal as the Lady Monarchs would score seven of the game's next seven goals. Katie Veneziale led Old Dominion with four groundballs, while Jacobs led her team with three caused turnovers. In draws, Veneziale controlled four. In net, former Lady Monarch Michelle Gannon started the game and ended her afternoon with nine saves. Sara Larson, who spent over 18 minutes in between the pipes as a reserve, made three stops.
SERIES VS. HOFSTRA: Old Dominion is 3-3 all-time versus the Pride.
ABOUT HOFSTRA: The Pride enters the weekend with a 4-4 overall and 1-0 CAA mark and will travel to William & Mary Friday before coming to Foreman Field. Three of Hofstra's four losses have come at the hands of ranked squads including a 14-12 loss at Rutgers, where the Lady Monarchs fell 11-7 two weeks ago. Hofstra is led by junior attacker Casey McGrath with 19 goals and three assists for 22 points. Second in scoring is senior midfielder Becky Thorn, who has accumulated 17 goals, three assists, and 20 points. Junior Maisie Osteen has started all eight contests and is posting a 10.82 goals against average and .478 save percentage.
LAST TIME VS. HOFSTRA: The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team fell to the 2005 regular season CAA Champions, Hofstra, 15-7, back on April 16, 2006. Jessica Noone posted her first career hat trick as she led the Lady Monarchs with three goals and an assist. Hofstra took a 5-0 lead in the first half and led 7-1 at the half. Caroline Jacobs tallied ODU's lone first half goal comiing with 3:46 remaining in the opening stanza.Old Dominion struck first in the second half as Noone found the back of the Pride net for the first of her three goals less than a minute and a half into play. Less than a minute later Hofstra's Jamie Rabuano scored to bring the score to 8-2. Kelly Kimener posted back-to-back goals less than a minute apart to pull the Lady Monarchs to 8-4 as the clock read 21:05 remaining in the game. However, the Pride went on to post the next six goals and lead 14-4 with 9:43 left. The Lady Monarchs scored three of the game's final four goals to bring the final score to 15-7. Noone posted two more goals, stopping the Hofstra scoring rally, while former Lady Monarch Melody Shotwell put in the final ODU tally of the afternoon.In net, Old Dominion's Michelle Gannon made 11 saves, while Maisie Osteen made six stops and Cassandra Stuke recorded two in the victory for Hofstra.
TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER: Senior Caroline Jacobs currently leads all NCAA Division I Players in groundballs per game (4.33). The fourth year Lady Monarch recently reset her career-high in the category. Jacobs scooped up a career-high seven groundballs, surpassing her previous high of six set in her sophomore campaign against three different teams, last Thursday at Richmond.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: Senior Caroline Jacobs is not the only Lady Monarch to featured in the NCAA stats. Jacobs, who leads the nation in groundballs per game, is also ranked fourth in caused turnovers per game (2.5). Classmate Katie Veneziale is currently eighth nationally in draw controls averaging 3.33 per outing.
LOOKING AROUND THE CAA: Several Lady Monarchs are ranked among their Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) peers. Senior midfielder Caroine Jacobs tops all league lists in groundballs per game (4.33) and caused turnovers per game (2.50). Senior midfielder Katie Veneziale is tied for sixth in assists per game (1.00) and is second in draw controls per game (3.33). Freshman Ashley Kellogg is tied for fouth with two game-winning goals under her belt. Junior Sara Laron is currently seven in goals against average (11.28), fifth in save percentage (.451), and fourth in saves per game (8.50).
MOVING ON UP: Senior midfielder Caroline Jacobs' performance of five goals and an assist against American in the season opener moved her into seventh on the ODU all-time points leaders list and moved into the top 10 on the all-time on the goals leaders list. Her performance last weekend at Temple and Rutgers moved her into a tied on the points leaders list with Carly Brown (1995-98) with 133 career points. Her scoring this past weekend also moved her one notch on the goals leaders list to the ninth position on the list. Fellow senior midfielder Katie Veneziale just cracked the top 10 assists leaders list with a dish against No. 5 Virginia.
POINTS LEADERS
Name - Goals - Assists - Points
1. Suzanne Wosczyna (2001-2004) - 206 - 119 - 325
2. Anne Windover (1993-1996) - 165 - 39 - 204
3. Cathy Large (1985-1988) - 177 - 22 - 199
4. Danielle Hensil (2000-2003) - 124 - 39 - 163
5. Jennifer Heister (1999-2002) - 115 - 23 - 138
6. Caroline Jacobs (2004 - present) - 87 - 46 - 137
7 Carly Brown (1995-1998) - 105 - 28 - 133
8. Melody Shotwell (2002-2006) - 98 - 26 - 124
9. Amy Duerr (1992-1995) - 94 - 29 - 123
10. Ericka Davidheiser (1992-1995) 79 - 40 - 119
GOALS LEADERS
Name - Goals
1. Suzanne Wosczyna (2001-2004) - 206
2. Cathy Large (1985-1988) - 177
3. Anne Windover (1993-1996) - 165
4. Danielle Hensil (2000-2003) - 124
5. Jennifer Heister (1999-2002) - 115
6. Carly Brown (1995-1998) - 105
7. Melody Shotwell (2002-2006) - 98
8. Amy Duerr (1992-1995) - 94
9. Caroline Jacobs (2004 - present) - 91
10. Kailynne Ross (1996-1999) - 86
ASSIST LEADERS
Name - Assists
1. Suzanne Wosczyna (2001-2004) - 119
2. Dana Kuchta (1993-1996) - 50
3. Caroline Jacbos (2004 - present) - 46
4. Erica Davidheiser (1992 - 1995) - 40
5. Anne Windover (1993-1996) - 39
5. Danielle Hensil (2000 - 2003) - 39
7. Janine Rodriguez (2001-2004) - 37
8. Amy Duerr (1992-1995) - 29
9. Carly Brown (1995-1998) - 28
10T. Melody Shotwell (2002-2006) - 26
10T. Katie Veneziale (2004 - present) - 26
CLOSING IN ON THE CAVALIERS: The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team hung tough against fifth-ranked Virginia on Wednesday afternoon, falling 10-7 in their closest game with the Cavaliers since 1999. The game was Old Dominion closest margin with Virginia since a 4-3 loss to the Cavaliers. Since that one-goal loss, the Cavaliers had averaged nearly a 12-goal win margin over the next seven years. The Lady Monarchs led twice in the first half and the game overall endured four ties, including a stalemate at 7-7 until the 16:12 mark of the second half.
RANK 'EM UP: Wednesday's contest with the Virginia Cavaliers marked the fourth ranked team and third straight the Lady Monarchs have faced. Old Dominion previously met up with No. 1 North Carolina, No. 18/20 Rutgers, and No. 20/18 Richmond. Rutgers marked the second ranked team the Lady Monarchs haved faced this season.
OFF THE ROAD: The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team is finally returning home after a five-game road swing. Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers marked the Lady Monarchs first home appearance since their season-opener back on March 4th. During the road trip Old Dominion had traveled nearly 1,700 miles with trips to Baltimore (UMBC), Chapel Hill (UNC), Piscataway, New Jersey (Rutgers), Philadelphia (Temple) and Richmond (Richmond).
THE ROOKIE: Freshman Ashley Kellogg was the lone member of the freshman class that head coach Sue Stahl placed in the season opening starting line-up. In her first appearance in a Lady Monarch uniform Kellogg was one of five goals scorers capturing the game-winner at the 9:32 mark of the first half in last week's 14-6 win over American. Kellogg currently leads the Lady Monarchs with game-winning goals having put in her second career game-winner against Temple last Saturday.
POW: Old Dominion senior midfielder Caroline Jacobs was named a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Player of the Week for the week ending March 7th. Jacobs captured five goals and an assist her 2007 debut and also led the way for the Lady Monarchs in groundballs, draw controls, and caused turnovers. The fourth year Lady Monarch scooped up a game-high four groundballs, caused a game-high three turnovers, and tied for the lead in draw registering four. It is Jacobs' second CAA weekly honor also earning the award for the week ending April 24th of her sophomore season in 2005. It was during final week of the regular season that Jacobs poured in nine goals and three assists as the Lady Monarchs dropped two close games to nationally ranked opponents, #20 William & Mary and #9 North Carolina to earn her first CAA Player of the Week distinction.
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs hit the road again for their next three games. Next weekend takes the Old Dominion women's lacrosse team to Towson on Friday, April 13th and Delaware on Sunday, April 8th for Colonial Athletic Association match-ups.