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NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion field hockey team exploded for a season-high seven goals and the top-ranked Lady Monarchs routed James Madison, 7-1, to clinch the top-seed in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
The Lady Monarch win coupled with a Hofstra loss tonight against Northeastern means ODU will host the CAA Tournament in Norfolk November 3-6.
Senior Rebecca Condie and junior Maartje van Rijswijk each netted a pair of goals and senior Stephanie Kratzer dished out a career-high three assists as Old Dominion improves to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in CAA action.
James Madison started the game with a ton of energy and it paid off in the fourth minute as Lindsay Cutchins posted her third goal of the year to give the Dukes and early 1-0 lead.
The Lady Monarchs would trail until the 16:29 mark when Condie deflected a Kratzer shot to tie the game at one. Less than five minutes later van Rijswijk dribbled the ball on the right baseline and found a hole in the Dukes defense to score and give ODU their first lead of the evening.
Kati Nearhouse posted her fifth goal of the season off a Kratzer feed just before the half to give the Lady Monarchs a two-goal cushion at intermission.
Old Dominion came out of the locker rooms on fire, posting three goals in a six-minute span to go up 6-1. A Kathryn Kirk goal in the 49th minute put the Lady Monarchs up 7-1 and that score would hold.
ODU outshot JMU 15-3 and the Lady Monarchs held an 8-2 edge in penalty corners.
Next up for Old Dominion is a home battle against rival VCU Sunday at 1 p.m. The contest will be Old Dominion University's Olympic Sports Game of the Week with Ted Alexander and former Lady Monarch Loran Hatch providing commentary and analysis.
-ODU-