Oct. 23, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- The 28th ranked and CAA leading Lady Monarchs (13-2-1/6-1-1) head out on the road to face the Towson Tigers (3-12-1/0-7-1) on Friday at 3:00 pm and the George Mason Patriots (4-11-1/1-6-1) on Sunday at 1:00 pm. The weekends games will be crucial in determining seeding for the CAA Tournament as the top of the league remains extremely crowded, with ODU and Hofstra tied with 19 points, followed closely by James Madison and William & Mary with 18.
Old Dominion is led by three 20-point scorers for the first time in school history as seniors Katie Watson (9g, 6a) and Shavon Knight (9g, 7a) lead the way with rookie Victoria Johnson (7g, 6a). ODU is currently outscoring opponents by a +2.06 margin, unparalleled in the CAA.
The team is riding a six-game unbeaten streak, posting five shutouts in CAA play in that span. ODU is outscoring opponents 12-2 in the current streak. On the season, ODU has posted a team-record tying ten shutouts, leaning on stellar defense from seniors Lizzy Brewster and Marilee Mastaler with junior Brittney Kortz and freshman Lisa Bernardini. In goal, Lauren Tupman has posted the bulk of the minutes and has allowed just nine goals in 15 games this season, good for a 0.60 GAA. She leads the conference and is 14th in the nation in goals against average.
The Tigers are currently on a school record slide, winless in 11 straight games. Eight different Towson players have scored a goal, though, and over half of the teams goals have come in CAA play. Junior forward Erica Marshall leads the way offensively with 2 goals and 49 shots this season in 15 starts.
Towson is over .500 at home over the last two years, and boasts a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against ODU. Towson won in Norfolk last season, 1-0.
On Sunday, ODU will face the Patriots of George Mason. The Patriots, like the Tigers, have struggled this year and are currently riding a seven game winless streak. Led by their goalkeeper/forward Kelly Keelan, though, Mason has done some damage on both ends of the field. Keelan leads the team in goals with seven and in goals against average at 1.41. Jessica Paris has added six assists and a goal offensively as the secondary scoring threat.
Mason has picked up three of their four wins at home this season and holds the edge in the all-time series against ODU, 9-5-1. Old Dominion has won four straight against the Patriots dating back to 2004.
Weather permitting, live stats will be available for the Towson game at 3:00 pm by clicking here. The Sunday game against George Mason will also be available live online, through GameTracker on the GMU website, gomason.cstv.com.