Oct. 21, 2007
RICHMOND, Va. -- The No. 11 Old Dominion field hockey team needed overtime to get past Virginia Commonwealth Sunday afternoon at Crenshaw Field. The Rams tied the score with 23 seconds remaining in regulation, but sophomore Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland) captured the golden goal on a penalty stroke to give the Lady Monarchs the 3-2 victory.
The win, the second straight for the Lady Monarchs, improves the squad to 10-7 overall and 7-0 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. With today's victory over the Rams and James Madison's win over William & Mary, Old Dominion clinches the top seed at the 2007 CAA Tournament. Virginia Commonwealth meanwhile drops to 5-11 overall and 1-6 in the CAA.
The Rams struck first as Merel Kroon found her way to the back of the Lady Monarch cage in the game's fourth minute of play. Old Dominion would manage to tie the game at 1-1 before the half. In the 13th minute of play, sophomore Hanna Warren (Green Lane, Pa.) scored on a penalty corner attempt off a pass from classmate Kathleen Shea (Elizaville, N.Y.).
Another goal would not scored until the closing minutes of the second half. Shea gave Old Dominion a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes remaining on what was the potential game-winner. However, Virginia Commonwealth sent the game into overtime with 23 seconds remaining on the clock. Emily Guerra slapped a shot into the cage from four yards out on a pass from Jenna Harris.
In the overtime session, Beek was awarded a penalty stroke a mere three minutes in. She fired into the right side of the Ram cage for Old Dominion's second overtime victory of the year.
Old Dominion outshot Virginia Commonwealth, 19-8, and outcornered the Rams, 13-4.
In goal, junior Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.) made four stops, while Virginia Commonwealth's Brittany LoVullo made seven saves.
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 (Va. Beach, Va.), Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfontein, South Africa) and Sami McLenegan (Middletown, Pa.) 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.