Sept. 23, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU Lady Monarchs (4-4-1) open the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season tomorrow as they travel to face Georgia State University (6-2-0) at 2:00 p.m. Due to inclement weather, the field conditions are not playable at Panthersville, so the game has been moved to Atlanta Silverbacks Park.
Directions to the Silverbacks Park are available on the team's website here.
The game will open up conference play for both teams. Old Dominion is coming off a 3-0 win against Radford and a 1-1 tie with Loyola University. Georgia State dropped just its second game of the season with an overtime setback to Mercer on Sunday after a 3-0 win over South Alabama.
This season, ODU has been led offensively by rookie Ashlee Coutu (Lebanon, Conn.) with three goals and four assists. Sophomore Victoria Johnson (Norfolk, Va.) has added four assists and a goal on the season to insert her name onto the top ten all-time at Old Dominion for helpers. Her 11 career assists ties her for eighth all time.
Senior Kirstin Walker scored her first two career goals last weekend in a winning effort against Radford. She, Ashley Kukura and Jocelyn Weidner each have four points on the season.
Defensively, the Lady Monarchs have been led by a contingency of seniors and sophomores. Brittney Kortz, Samantha Brennan and Saratu Dodo lead the way for the veterans while Lisa Bernardini and Rachael Carroll have started every game as second-year players.
Georgia State is scoring over two goals per game with a potent offense led by Sarah Bennett. Bennett leads the team in goals with five and has added two assists to lead the team in points with 12. Apryl Goodwin has started all eight games and has four goals with three assists for 11 total points. Veteran goalkeeper Heidi Blankenship has posted a 1.22 goals against average with a .792 save percentage in eight starts. She has played all but 14:19 between the pipes for the Panthers and has posted three shutouts.
Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 24. Reminder to fans that the game has been moved to Atlanta Silverbacks Park due to unplayable conditions at Georgia State's Panthersville. Live stats will be available through the Georgia State athletics website or by clicking here.