April 2, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. - Senior Ashley Kellogg and sophomore Lisa Bernardini combined for seven goals, but Old Dominion dropped a 12-8 decision to Louisville Friday evening in non-conference women's lacrosse action at the Powhatan Sports Complex.
After winning back-to-back contests, Old Dominion has now dropped three straight to fall to 2-5 on the year. Louisville, which has played seven consecutive road games, improves to 6-3.
The game was very close statistically with ODU holding a narrow 33-32 edge in shots and Louisville winning only two more draws than the Lady Monarchs. However, Cardinals goalkeeper Danielle Pawliw made nine of her game-high 16 saves during a second half ODU charge.
Louisville dominated the first 25 minutes of play, racing out to a 7-1 lead with 5:38 remaining in the opening half. Old Dominion rallied late in the period though as Bernardini scored at the 3:20 mark and Kellogg notched two scores in 47 seconds to cut the Cardinal lead to 7-4 at the intermission.
Bernardini's second tally of the day early in the second half brought ODU to within two. The Lady Monarchs then controlled the ball in their offensive zone for 5:27 seconds with hopes of pulling to within a single score.
During the span, Old Dominion got off eight shots, but one hit the post and Pawliw made six of her nine second half saves to preserve the Cardinals two-goal edge. After Louisville finally got the ball back in its zone, Bergan Foley registered a score to put the Cardinals up 8-5.
After another UofL goal, the Lady Monarchs made one final push. Bernardini scored off a free-position shot and Kellogg bounced a shot in to make it 9-7. Consecutive Cardinals goals though with less than 10 minutes to play would seal the victory for Louisville.
Old Dominion will play its final non-conference game of the year on Sunday against No. 3 North Carolina. The game will get underway at 1 p.m. at the Powhatan Sports Complex.
-ODU-