Sept. 13, 2007
NORFOLK, Va. -- It's another tough weekend on the road for the No. 13/13 Old Dominion field hockey team. The Lady Monarchs travel to Chapel Hill to take on No. 1/2 North Carolina, on Friday, September 14th at 6:00 p.m. and then go down the road to Durham to face No. 10/10 Duke on Sunday, September 16th at 1:00 p.m. Friday night's showdown with the Tar Heels can be viewed live with ACCSelect.
The Lady Monarchs enter the weekend with a 1-4 mark with all four losses coming at the hands of teams featured in both the STX/NFHCA and Women's Field Hockey.Com Polls - Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, and Connecticut.
Sophomore Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland) leads the way for Old Dominion with three goals, five assists, and 11 points. She currently ranks fourth nationally in assists per game (1.0) and 18th in points per game (2.2). Second in scoring on the team is senior Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfontein, South Africa) who checks in with a goal, three assists, and five points. In net, junior Kelly Driscoll is posting a 3.00 goals against average with a .717 save percentage. Last week against Connecticut she halted a career-high 12 shots on net.
North Carolina moved up to No. 1 in the STX/NFHCA Poll this weekend unseating two-time defending champion Maryland in the poll. The Tar Heels are 6-0 on the season having outscored opponents 28-7 thus far. Among the victories are a 9-0 shutout of West Chester, a 2-1 victory over CAA member James Madison, and a 2-1 overtime victory over ACC rival Wake Forest.
A trio of Tar Heels have recorded double digits points so far led by senior midfielder Jesse Gey with four goals, six assists, and 14 point. Senior midfielder Rachel Dawson, a member of the US National Team along with former Lady Monarchs Tiffany Snow, Angie Loy, Melissa Leonetti, Dana Sensenig, and Caroline Nichols, has six goals and 12 points, while freshman midfielder Elizabeth Drazdowki has collected 11 points stemming from five goals and an assist. Sophomore Brianna O'Donnell has started all six games in goal for North Carolina. She is holding a .692 save percentage and 0.87 goals against average.
Duke will host Drexel on Saturday afternoon before the Lady Monarchs make their way to Durham. Entering the weekend, the Blue Devils are sporting a .500 mark at 3-3. They defeated Radford, 4-0, to snap a two-game losing streak which included losses against Iowa and Wake Forest.
Junior midfielder Laura Suchoski is Duke's leading scorer having accumulated three goals and two assists for eight point. Sophomore forward Amie Survilla is second on the stat sheet with three goals. In goal, senior Caitlin Williams is registering a 1.71 goal against average and .795 save percentage.
Following this weekend, the Lady Monarch field hockey team will return home to host Radford on Saturday, September 22nd, and begin Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action against Northeastern on Sunday, September 23rd.
Note: Stay tuned to ODUsports.com for the availability of livestats for this weekend's contests.