Aug. 27, 2009
The Old Dominion field hockey team is set open the 2009 season this weekend with home tilts against No. 11 Penn State and Villanova. The 16th-ranked Lady Monarchs will take on Penn State on Friday at 5 p.m. and Villanova on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both contests will be held at the Powhatan Sports Complex.
GAME NOTES
HOME COOKIN'Old Dominion will open the 2009 season with four consecutive home games. The Lady Monarchs welcome No. 11 Penn State and Villanova to the Powhatan Sports Complex for the opening weekend.
BIG CONTRIBUTORSOld Dominion will be led by senior midfielder Kathleen Shea, who finished the 2008 season with five goals and was a First-Team All-CAA selection. Goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll also returns for her senior season after leading the CAA with 7.3 saves per game and posting four shutouts a year ago. In all, ODU returns 10 starters from a team that was 6-2 in CAA play last season.
NATIONAL EXPERIENCEFour Lady Monarchs also gained valuable experience competing at the 2009 Women's National Championships. Driscoll, Hanna Warren, Shea and Stephanie Kratzer all took part in the round-robin tournament featuring the top athletes from USA Field Hockey's six regional High Performance Centers.
YOUTH MOVEMENTIn addition to returning a wealth of experience, the Lady Monarchs also welcome back a plethora of young talent.Loran Hatch will look to build off a solid sophomore season in which she led ODU with five assists and All-CAA Rookie selection Rachel Stream returns after ending 2008 second on the team in goals scored, points, shots and shots-on-goal.
TOUGH SLATEThe 2009 schedule continues the ODU tradition of challenging itself both in and out of conference play. The slate features 11 home contests and home-and-away series with defending national champion Maryland, as well as perennial powerhouses North Carolina and Duke. In all, the Lady Monarchs will face nine opponents ranked in last year's final National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll and take on eight 2008 NCAA Tournament participants.
BRING ON THE NITTANY LIONSFriday's game marks the season opener for both teams. Old Dominion has played Penn State in its first game in each of the previous five seasons. The Lady Monarchs and the Nittany Lions have faced each other 23 times, with ODU holding a 13-10 advantage. The squads have played every season dating back to 1989 (21 consecutive seasons). Penn State has won the last two matchups against ODU after the Lady Monarchs won three consecutive games. PSU defeated ODU 2-0 in 2008.
CAA BRAGGING RIGHTSOld Dominion was picked to win the 2009 CAA field hockey title in a vote of the league's nine head coaches. The Lady Monarchs received six first-place votes and 62 total points, edging out second-place James Madison.
A LOOK AT PSUFollowing a Big Ten Championship season, the Penn State field hockey begins 2009 ranked No. 11 in the preseason Kookaburra/NFHCA Coaches Poll as announced on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions ended last season in the same poll position. ODU is ranked No. 16.
COACHING CONNECTIONPenn State head coach Charlene Morett has a strong connection to Old Dominion and head coach Beth Anders. Anders hired Morett as an assistant coach in 1980. During her time at ODU, the Lady Monarchs reached three NCAA Tournaments.
SCOUTING VILLANOVAThe Wildcats will have plenty of experience on their side for the 2009 season as 15 letterwinners return to the field including 9 starters from last season. Villanova was selected to finish fifth in the BIG EAST. Junior goalkeeper Maura McCormick and senior defender Steffi Caniglia will anchor a Villanova defense which accounted for six-shutouts last season, and junior forward Dana Ramsden will also provide plenty of offensive power after being named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.