Sept. 3, 2009
Norfolk, Va. - The Old Dominion field hockey team will end a four-game homestand with a pair of contests against Top 10 teams this Labor Day weekend. The No. 16 Lady Monarchs will welcome No. 1 Maryland for a 5 p.m. game on Friday and No. 6 Virginia will battle with ODU on Monday at 12 noon. Both contests will be held at the Powhatan Sports Complex.
GAME NOTES
TIME TO BREAK THE TIEOld Dominion and Maryland have met 45 times on the field hockey field with both teams winning 22 contests and one match going to a draw. The winner of the game on Friday will have bragging rights as the all-time series leader. The Lady Monarchs have a commanding 32-9 edge in the all-time series against Virginia.
SCOUTING MARYLANDTop-ranked Maryland arrives in Norfolk a perfect 3-0. The Terrapins have outscored their opponents 12-2 and out-shot their foes 46-22. UM is led by Katie O'Donnell, who leads the team with nine points on two goals and five assists. Nicole Muracco paced the Terrapins with three goals on the year. In goal, Alicia Grater has made 15 saves and sports a 0.36 goals against average.
A LOOK AT VIRGINIAVirginia is off to a 2-0 start and the Cavaliers have not allowed a goal this season. UVA topped Miami (Ohio) 7-0 on August 28 before upending No. 11 Penn State 1-0 two days later. Seven different Cavaliers have scored goals this season and Traci Ragukas leads UVA with two assists.
STREAM NAMED CAA CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEKSophomore Rachel Stream was named the Colonial Athletic Association field hockey Co-Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Stream tallied three goals for the Lady Monarchs, including the game winner against No. 11 Penn State on August 28. Stream led ODU to its first 2-0 start since the 2006 season as the Lady Monarchs also topped Villanova to complete the unblemished week. The back added two goals against the Wildcats to pace an ODU offense that erupted for seven goals, its most since the 2007 season.
PAIR OF OPENING WEEK VICTORIESJunior Loran Hatch dished out two assists and sophomore Rachel Stream netted the game-winning goal midway through the second half to give Old Dominion a 2-1 season opening victory over No. 11 Penn State last Friday. ODU followed that up with a 7-1 rout of Villanova on Sunday as the sophomore tandem of Stream and Kathryn Kirk accounted for four Lady Monarch goals.
SCORING IN BUNCHESOld Dominion's seven goals against Villanova were the most scored by the Lady Monarchs since an 8-1 victory over Radford in 2007. Five different ODU players tallied goals and five different players dished out assists against the Wildcats. The Lady Monarchs offense produced a balanced attack with 12 shots in each half, including 14 total shots-on-goal. ODU also dominated in penalty corner opportunities, garnering 10 to Villanova's four attempts.
PRESEASON HONORSSenior Kathleen Shea was selected to the Preseason All-CAA Field Hockey Team, the league announced. The midfielder scored five goals and had a CAA-best five defensive saves in 2008. Shea, a First Team All-CAA selection in 2008, started all 23 games for the Lady Monarchs a year ago. She netted two game-winning goals, placed 14 of her 23 shots on goal and ranked second on the team in total goals and game-winning goals. The midfielder was ranked third on the squad in shots and points.
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.
HOME COOKIN'Old Dominion will open the 2009 season with four consecutive home games. The Lady Monarchs welcome Penn State and Villanova to the Powhatan Sports Complex for the opening weekend of play before taking on perennial powerhouses Maryland and Virginia on Labor Day weekend.
NATIONAL EXPERIENCEFour Lady Monarchs also gained valuable experience competing at the 2009 Women's National Championships. Kelly Driscoll, Hanna Warren, Kathleen 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.
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.