Oct. 19, 2007
NORFOLK, Va. -- The No. 11 Old Dominion field hockey team hits the road for a critical conference weekend. The Lady Monarchs will take on No. 8/9 James Madison in a battle for sole possesion of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on Saturday, October 20th and take on Virginia Commonwealth, a team receiving votes in this week's STX/NFHCA Poll, on Sunday, October 21st.
The Lady Monarchs are looking to snap a two-game losing streak that started last week with a pair of 4-1 losses to the ACC's Maryland and Duke. Prior to ODU's loss to the two-time defending national champion Terps, the Lady Monarchs had strung together seven straight wins which included five shutouts. Old Dominion will enter the weekend with an 8-7 mark and 5-0 record in the CAA. James Madison will mark the seventh team that the Lady Monarchs have faced that has been ranked in the top 10.
Old Dominion is led by sophomore Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland) with four goals, eight assists and 16 points. A pair of sophomores are second in scoring with Kathleen Shea (Elizaville, N.Y.) and Katie Ueberroth (Stevens, Pa.) collecting 13 points. Shea has accumulated six goals and an assist while Ueberroth has notched five goals and three assists. In goal, junior Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.) is posting a 1.86 goals against average and .769.
In the conference, Beek ranks third in points per game (1.23) and leads the league in assists per game (0.62). Shea and freshman Loran Hatch (Green Lane, Pa.) are tied in ninth in points per game (1.00). Shea checks in tied for sixth in goals per game (0.46) and senior Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfontien, South Africa) is tied for ninth in assists per game (0.31).
James Madison enters the weekend sportina 13-2 overal mark and identical 5-0 CAA record. The Dukes lone two losses came at the hands of Virginia and North Carolina.
Senior Melisa Stefaniak leads the way for James Madison with eight goals, three assists, and 19 points. Freshman midfielder Dolores de Rooij and sophomore forward Meghan Bain each have seven goals and 14 points for the year as the Dukes' second leading scorers. In the cage sophomore Kelsey Cutchins holds a league-leading 0.82 goals against average and .825 save percentage.
Virginia Commonwealth enters the weekend with a 5-9 overall mark and 1-4 record in the CAA. The Rams will. Virginia Commonwealth is coming off a 3-0 victory over Appalachian State, which snapped a six-game losing streak.
The Rams are led by senior forward Jenna Harris with seven goals, two assists, and 16 poitns. Freshman forward Merel Kroon is second on the squad in scoring with six goals, two assists, and 14 points. In goal, VCU has two options in junior Laura Baker and senior Brittany LoVullo. Baker has seen action in 11 games and has a 1.91 goals against average and a .726 save percentage. LoVullo has made seven appearances with a 2.00 goals against average and .633 save percentage.
Following this weekend, only two games remain in the regular season. Old Dominion will host top-ranked North Carolina in the annual scholarship game on Saturday, October 27th. There will be a five dollar admission (ODU students admitted free with ID) which will benefit the Intercollegiate Foundation For Field Hockey Scholarships. The game will also mark the final regular season home game and seniors Shannon Mobley, Jo Ann van Aswegen, and Sami McLenegan will be honored prior to the game. The Lady Monarchs will then close out the 2007 regular season on the road in a conference game. Old Dominion travels to William & Mary on Sunday, October 21st.