May 21, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- The 2008 version of the Old Dominion field hockey team will take to the turf with another demanding schedule. The list of opponents include the annual home-and-home series with Maryland, Duke, and North Carolina, as well as non-conference action against Penn State, Syracuse, Virginia, Richmond, Boston University, and California, with Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) competition heating up in late September. The 2008 Lady Monarchs will also open up the brand new state-of-the-art Powhatan Sports Complex, the new home of the ODU field hockey program.
The 2008 season kicks off with four straight road games. The season officially begins in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with a pair of neutral site contests. Penn State will serve as Old Dominion's season opener on Saturday, August 30th followed with a meeting against Syracuse on Sunday, August 31st. It will be the fourth straight season the Lady Lions have served as the Lady Monarchs' season opener and the 15th consecutive season the two teams have faced each other. The meeting with the Orange will be only the second meeting between the squads and the first since 2004.
Old Dominion will meet up with one of its biggest rivals in Maryland in College Park for the first of two meetings with the Terps on Friday, September 5th followed with another rival from the ACC with the 32nd straight season of meeting Virginia on the pitch on Sunday, September 7th.
The University of Richmond will be the Lady Monarch's first ever opponent at the brand new Powhatan Sports Complex on Saturday, September 13th. The Spiders will be the first of nine contests at the new turf in 2008.
The Lady Monarchs' schedule continues with another four games on the road. Old Dominion heads to North Carolina for the first of two meetings with both North Carolina and Duke. The Lady Monarchs take on the Tar Heels, the defending national champions, in Chapel Hill on Friday, September 19th and the Blue Devils in Durham on Sunday, September 21st.
The road swing continues on Saturday, September 27th against Boston University before opening the CAA schedule on the road with Northeastern on Sunday, September 28th.
The first CAA competition at the Powhatan Sports Complex will be a weekend match-up with Towson on Friday, October 3rd and Delaware on Sunday, October 5th.
Conference action continues as Old Dominion heads up North for its final road games of the regular season. The Lady Monarchs travel to Hofstra on Friday, October 10th and Drexel on Sunday, October 12th.
Following ODU's meeting with the Dragons, the Lady Monarchs will play their next seven games at home to close out the regular season. Old Dominion will meet California for the first time in 11 years on Wednesday, October 15th and then close out the home-and-home series with Maryland on Friday, October 17th and Duke on Sunday, October 19th. Other games during the homestand include two-time defending CAA champion, James Madison, on Saturday, October 25th, Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday, October 26th, the second and final meeting with North Carolina on Saturday, November 1st, and the regular season and CAA finale on Sunday, November 2nd versus William & Mary.
The CAA Tournament will take place November 7th through 9th at a location to be announced. The Lady Monarchs have won the CAA title in 13 of its 17 years in the league.
NCAA Tournament action gets under way on November 13th - 16th on campus sites culminating at the Final Four November 20th-23rd in Louisville, Kentucky. The Old Dominion field hockey team is the only Division I program to appear in every tournament since it began back in 1981, marking a string of 27 consecutive post-season appearances.
Old Dominion returns 13 letterwinners and seven starters from last year's team and will welcome 10 newcomers. Among the returnees include junior midfielder/back Katie Ueberroth (Stevens, Pa.), who posted a team-leading 23 points from nine goals and five assists, junior forward/midfielder Kathleen Shea (Elizaville, N.Y.), who posted nine goals and two assists to total 20 points, CAA Rookie of the Year Loran Hatch (Green Lane, Pa.), who totaled eight goals and two assists, and senior defender and First Team All-CAA selection Katelyn Smither (Suffolk, Va.), who also contributed five goals and three assists. Additionally the Lady Monarchs return goalkeeper and First Team All-CAA honoree Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.), who posted eight shutouts last season and 20 in her career.