Oct. 8, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -The Old Dominion field hockey team returns home for a pair of Colonial Athletic Association games this weekend. The 16th-ranked Lady Monarchs, who have won four of their last five games, will battle No. 12 Drexel at 5 p.m. on Friday before taking on Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both contests will be played at the Powhatan Sports Complex where ODU is 4-2 overall and 1-0 in league games.
GAME NOTES
A LOOK AT THE RANKINGS:
The Old Dominion field hockey team is ranked No. 16 in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll, released Tuesday. The Lady Monarchs are ranked even higher, No. 13, in this week's womensfieldhockey.com poll. ODU is one of four Colonial Athletic Association teams ranked. Other CAA schools joining ODU in the rankings are James Madison (11), Drexel (12) and Delaware (17). Northeastern, Hofstra, VCU and Towson also received votes in the poll.
LAST WEEKEND FOR ODU:
The 16th-ranked Lady Monarchs (6-6 overall, 2-1 CAA) went 1-1 last week, falling at Delaware 4-0, but then responding with a 2-1 overtime win at Towson. Sophomore midfielder/forward Kathryn Kirk and senior midfielder/back Kathleen Shea recorded the two goals in ODU's win at Towson. Kirk opened the scoring at the 6:34 mark and assisted on Shea's overtime game-winner 23 seconds into overtime. Old Dominion hosts a pair of conference games this week.
TOP 10 RPI:
In the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association RPI rankings, the Lady Monarchs place No. 9. Additionally, ODU's strength of schedule is ranked as the second toughest in the country. In total, ODU has played seven ranked teams, including six in the Top 10. Old Dominion has fared well against its ranked opponents thus far, picking up wins against Penn State and on the road against Duke. In all, the Lady Monarchs face nine opponents ranked in last year's final NFHCA poll and take on eight 2008 NCAA Tournament participants.
DOMINATING LEAGUE FOES:
Old Dominion has dominated the all-time series against both Drexel and Hofstra. The Lady Monarchs hold an 8-1 advantage against the Dragons in a series dating back to 1998. ODU has never lost the Pride in seven all-time meetings.
SCOUTING DREXEL:
The 12th-ranked Dragons enter Friday's contest with a 9-2 overall record and a 2-1 CAA mark. Drexel split in its two-game conference homestand last weekend, defeating VCU 4-1, before falling to No. 15 James Madison 3-2. Junior forward Christina Mastropaolo led the Dragons with three goals and one assist last week. Against the Rams, Mastropaolo scored off a deflection to open the scoring in the 11th minute and added an insurance goal in the 52nd minute. She recorded a goal and assisted on another in Drexel's defeat on Sunday. Junior forward Susan Ciufo scored two goals in Friday's win, including the game-winner that broke a 1-1 tie in the 39th minute. Mastropaolo and Ciufo are tied for the league lead in points with 34 and each are tied with Delaware's Casey Howard for goals with 14. Mastropaolo also is tied for the CAA lead in assists with six.
A LOOK AT HOFSTRA:
The Pride enter the weekend with a 6-6 overall record and 1-2 mark in CAA action. Hofstra split at home last weekend in conference play, falling to No. 15 James Madison 5-1, before downing the VCU Rams 4-3 in overtime. Sophomore forward/midfielder Genna Kovar logged a multi-point game when she assisted on Hofstra's first goal and scored the game-tying goal to force overtime during Sunday's win. Junior midfielder Amy-Lee Levey tallied two goals against the Rams, including the game-winner in the 81st minute on a penalty stroke. Freshman forward Krizia Layne recorded her third goal of her rookie season, opening up the scoring in Sunday's win. Sophmore goalkeeper Meredith Golden made 14 stops during the two games, including eight during the first half on Sunday.
UEBERROTH SETTING CAREER MARKS:
Senior midfielder Katie Ueberroth set new career-high's in both goals and assists in back-to-back games this season. Ueberroth netted her first career hat trick on Sept. 20 as the Lady Monarchs picked up a 3-2 overtime road win against No. 10 Duke. Ueberroth scored goals in each half and then tallied the game-winner in overtime to give ODU its second win over a team ranked No. 11 or better this season. The senior then followed that up with a three assist performance against Northeastern on Sept. 25.
DRISCOLL IN GOAL:
Old Dominion goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll tied her career-high with 14 saves against Duke on Sept. 20. She also posted 13 saves against No. 2 UNC on Sept. 18. Her 27 save weekend is the most in a two-game stretch in her career.
SCORING IN BUNCHES:
Old 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 HONORS:
Senior 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 RIGHTS:
Old 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.
NATIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Four 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.