Nov. 3, 2008
Gametracker - CAA Quarterfinal
NORFOLK, Va. -- On Tuesday night at 7:00 pm, the last two CAA Champions will take the field against eachother in the 2008 CAA Tournament. The #4 seeded and 2006 CAA Champion ODU Lady Monarch soccer team (14-4-1/7-3-1) will host a CAA Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against the #5 seeded and defending CAA Champion Hofstra Pride (10-7-2/7-3-1) at 7:00 pm tomorrow night. Admission is $5 for fans and admission is free for ODU students with a valid ID.
Awaiting the winner of the Old Dominion/Hofstra matchup is top-seeded William & Mary on Friday night at 7:00 pm. The other semifinal game at William & Mary will be between second-seeded James Madison and the winner of #3 UNC Wilmington and #6 Northeastern.
This is ODU's fourth appearance in the CAA Tournament in the last five years, boasting a 2-2-1 record with one championship in that span. ODU has recent success from the fourth seed, dropping Northeastern, tying and advancing on PK's against William & Mary and defeating James Madison in overtime on their run to the 2006 CAA Championship as the fourth seed.
Hofstra traveled to ODU earlier this season, and for the only time all season, ODU was held scoreless as the two teams played to a 0-0 tie. It was the 15th career shutout for senior goalkeeper Lauren Tupman, making her the all-time leader at Old Dominion. Both teams peppered the opposing defense with chances, including several strikes off the post. It was the eighth shutout of the season for ODU and the 11th straight against CAA opponents for the Pride.
This season, ODU has been led by a powerful offensive attack as well as an extremely stingy defense. The Lady Monarchs led the league in team scoring AND team defense, giving the team a league-best scoring margin of +1.74. ODU was the only team in the conference to score more than one goal per game than they gave up (2.53/0.79).
ODU's potent offense is led by seniors Katie Watson and Shavon Knight, with freshman Victoria Johnson. It's the first time in school history that three players have 20+ points in a single season, as Watson posted 31, Knight has 27 and Johnson has 23. Two more, Ashley Kukura and Elizabeth Brewster, have double-digits in scoring this season, making it just the second time in school history five players have done so.
On defense, ODU is led by seniors Marilee Mastaler, Elizabether Brewster, junior Brittney Kortz and freshman Lisa Bernardini. Along with Tupman in goal, the quartet of backs has posted the teams most successful defensive season. The team has broken the single-season shutout record (11) and is on pace to break the records for fewest goals again and lowest goals against average.
Hofstra is also led by an extremely experienced defense, including 5th year keeper Krystal Robens and four senior starting backs. On offense, sophomores Salma Tarik and Tiffany Yovino lead the way with 12 points.
The all-time series favors the Pride, 5-1-1. The only win against Hofstra came two years ago during the CAA Championship run, as ODU shutout the Pride, 1-0, in 2006. Hofstra last defeated ODU in 2005 with a 1-0 decision in New York.
Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Tuesday. Gametracker stats can be found on the odusports.com website and weather permitting, live video will be available as well.