Sept. 6, 2007
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Old Dominion field hockey team hits the road for the first time this season. The No. 9/13 Lady Monarchs take on No. 15/12 Michigan at Phyllis Ocker Stadium on Friday, September 7th at noon and then play No. 3/5 Connecticut on Saturday, September 8th at noon in a neutral site contest on the Wolverines home turf.
The Lady Monarchs are coming off their first victory of the 2007 season with a 3-1 win over Virginia. Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Week Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland) had a hand in all three goals scored recording an assist on the first goal and then scoring the next two, including the game-winner. Beek currently leads Old Dominion with two goals and two assists for a total of six points on the season. Behind Beek on the stat sheet is CAA Preseason Player of the Year Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfountein, South Africa) with a goal, two assists, and four points. In goal, junior Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.) is holding a 2.67 goals against average and .724 save percentage. She collected 12 saves in ODU's game against the Cavaliers last Sunday.
Michigan enters Friday's contest with a 1-3 overall mark coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to top-ranked Maryland. The Wolverines opened the season with two losses during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of then-No. 3 North Carolina and a 3-2 loss to then-No. 2. Following the two losses, Michigan moved into the win column with a 2-1 win over Temple.
Sophomore Kelly Fitzpatrick and senior Ashley Lennington, both with two goals, lead the Wolverines. In the cage for Michigan, junior Paige Pickett has a .744 save percentage and 2.44 goal against average.
Connecticut will enter Saturday's match-up with an undefeated 4-0 mark. The Huskies posts shutout against both Maine and Yale and earned 3-1 victories over both Towson and a seventh-ranked Penn State squad. The Huskies return nine starters from last year's squad that reached the Final Four. It was UConn's first appearance in the Final Four since the 1999 season.
Senior Lizzy Peijs leads the Huskies having accumulated three goals and two assists through the first four games of the season. Both juniors Lindsey Leck and Jennifer Kleinhans have collected two goals and two assists to check in as UConn's second leading scorers. Sophomore Andrea Mainiero is holding a 0.64 goals against average and .867 save percentage as the Huskies netminder.