March 30, 2012
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University Women's Lacrosse team begins Colonial Athletic Association action on Sunday when travel to Williamsburg to face William & Mary at 1:30 p.m. at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
Old Dominion (3-7, 0-0) is coming off a valiant effort on Wednesday night where they fell at No. 9 Virginia, 14-13. It is the second consecutive game and third in the month of March that ODU has lost by just a single goal. The Lady Monarchs outscored the Cavaliers, 9-5, in the second half as senior midfielder Lisa Bernardini, senior attacker Rebecca Reymann and sophomore midfielder Emily Austerberry each scored three goals in the game.
Bernardini (23 goals, 9 assists) leads the offense while senior midfielders Rebecca Hartrum (19 goals) and Sarah Wright (15 goals) along with Reymann (13) lead the charge in goals. In goal, senior Sarah Geary has caused seven turnovers, racked up 25 groundballs and picked up 69 saves while allowing 109 goals on the season. ODU ranked 11th in the NCAA (Division I) in groundballs per game at 18.44 per contest to begin the week.
William & Mary (2-8, 0-0) is on a five-game losing streak after narrowly falling t ninth-ranked Penn State last Sunday, 9-7. Six of the Tribe’s eight losses this season are to top-10 teams. Senior attacker Maggie Anderson and sophomore attacker Taelor Salmon lead the Tribe with 23 points apiece, while Salmon has a team-high 20 goals. Defensively, senior Sarah Mulvey leads the team with 23 ground balls and nine caused turnovers, while freshman goalie Lucy Ferguson ranks 16th nationally with 9.0 saves per game.
The Tribe lead the all-time series with the Lady Monarchs, 31-10, and have won each of the last four meetings. Sunday's game is part of the Optima Health Challenge, which is a yearlong competition between W&M and ODU. The Monarchs currently lead this school year, 50-30.
Live stats will be available along with updates on Twitter at @ODULacrosse.