Sept. 9, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. - After starting the year with four consecutive road games against ranked opponents, the Old Dominion field hockey team will open up its home schedule this weekend. The Lady Monarchs will play host to three other nationally-ranked opponents as No. 3 Virginia, No. 9 Syracuse and No. 12 Ohio State travel to the Powhatan Sports Complex for a pair of doubleheaders.
Old Dominion (1-3), which placed No. 17 in the latest NFHCA poll, will take on Syracuse on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Ohio State on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Third-ranked Virginia will battle Ohio State on Saturday at 11 a.m. and the Cavaliers will play the Orange on Sunday at 12 noon.
Old Dominion is coming off a pair of hard-fought road losses against No. 2 Maryland and No. 3 Virginia last weekend. Midfielder Loran Hatch shined as the senior scored three goals on the weekend, including a career-high tying two tallies against the Cavaliers.
Syracuse won its first three games of the year, including a 2-1 overtime victory over Ohio State, but the Orange suffered their first loss this past Saturday against Kent State. Lindsey Conrad and Leonie Geyer share the team lead with six points each.
Ohio State also enters the weekend with a 3-1 record, with its only blemish on the year coming against Syracuse. The Buckeyes are coming off a pivotal 4-3 double overtime win at No. 11 Louisville. Aisling Coyle leads the squad with four goals and nine total points.
ODU trails the all-time series against Syracuse, 2-1, but is perfect in three all-time meetings against Ohio State.
-ODU-