Oct. 2, 2008
Gametracker - Towson
Video - Towson
Gametracker - Delaware
Video - Delaware
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Lady Monarchs (3-6 overall, 1-0 CAA) enter this weekend riding a two-game winning streak following a 2-1 win over Boston University and a 1-0 overtime win over Northeastern to open up CAA action. Senior back Katelyn Smither, who leads the team in scoring with four goals, scored both goals in the ODU victory over Boston University. In the CAA opener against the Huskies, junior Kathleen Shea captured her first goal of the season by tallying the golden goal 55 seconds into overtime. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll recorded her first shutout of the year against Northeastern, upping her career total to 21. She enters the weekend with a 2.28 goals against average, a 776 save percentage, and is second in the CAA with 66 saves on the year.
ABOUT TOWSON: The Towson Tigers enter Friday night's contest with a 7-3 overall and 1-1 mark in the CAA. The Tigers opened the season on a five-game win streak before moving back and forth between the win and loss columns the last five games. Towson opened the CAA portion of its schedule with a 4-3 double overtime win against Virginia Commonwealth before dropping a 6-1 contest to #7 James Madison. The Lady Monarchs will be the Tigers' first road conference contest. Junior forward Christina Boarman leads not only her team, but also the CAA with 12 goals and 32 points. Boarman's 12 goals rank her fourth nationally, while her 32 points place her sixth in the country. Her eight assists rank her second in the league. Mariah Schuette and Stephanie Kisic are next on the Towson stat sheet with 11 points each. Schuette has posted five goals and an assist while Kisic has racked up a CAA-leading nine assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Whitney Clugston has collected 34 saves and is holding a 1.83 goals against average and a .642 save percentage.
LAST MEETING WITH TOWSON: Old Dominion defeated Towson 4-0 back on September 28, 2007. ODU stormed out to a 3-0 halftime lead behind first half goals by by Katie Ueberroth, Anna Kern, and Titia Beek. Katelyn Smither rounded out the scoring in the second half off a penalty corner opportunity. Towson's Michelle Cheek started the game, allowed all four Lady Monarch goals, and made two saves in the cage. The Tigers' Whitney Clugston played the final 20 minutes of the game also posting two saves.
ALL-TIME VS. TOWSON: ODU is a perfect 6-0 vs. Towson.
ABOUT DELAWARE: Delaware enters the weekend with a 2-7 overall record and is 1-1 in the CAA. They will play William & Mary Friday night before entering Sunday's game with the Lady Monarchs. The Blue Hens dropped their first five games of the season before earning a 2-1 victory over Temple. Following a 5-0 loss to nationally ranked James Madison to open up conference action, Delaware returned to the win column in their last outing with a 2-1 victory over Virginia Commonwealth.Florence Sijbrandij and Alexis Esbitt each have six points on the year stemming from three goals. Goalkeeper Nikki Rhoades has registered 59 saves along with a a 1.96 goals against average and a .787 save percentage.
ALL-TIME AGAINST DELAWARE: ODU is 7-1-1 against Delaware. The Lady Monarchs have won three straight in the series including a 1-0 win over 17th-ranked Blue Hens last season. The lone loss came in the 2004 CAA semifinals as the Lady Monarchs were upset by the third seeded Blue Hens 2-1 in overtime.
LAST MEETING WITH DELAWARE: Loran Hatch found her way to the back of the Delaware cage with just 34 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the No. 13/11 Old Dominion field hockey team to a 1-0 victory over the No. 18 Fightin' Blue Hens back on September 30, 2007. Old Dominion outshot Delaware 13-4 and held a 10-3 advantage in penalty corners. In goal, Kelly Driscoll made two stops to preserve the shutout. The Blue Hens' Nikki Rhoades posted five saves in the loss.
IN THE POLLS: Old Dominion enters the weekend unranked in the NFHCA Top 20 Poll this week, but continues to receive votes. Nine Lady Monarch's opponents are currently ranked in the poll's Top 20 with four other opponents receiving votes. Members of this week's Top 10 that grace the ODU schedule including No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Syracuse, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 7 James Madison, No. 9 Duke, and No. 10 Virginia.
NEARING THE HALF CENTURY MARK: Head coach Beth Anders enters this weekend's games with a 495-98-7 overall record, needing just five victories to become the first Division I coach and second field hockey coach overall to reach the 500 win milestone.