April 1, 2012
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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Old Dominion University Lacrosse team used a strong second half on Sunday afternoon to power past William & Mary in their CAA opener, 14-10, at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
The Lady Monarchs outscored the Tribe in the second half, 9-4, to secure their first win over William & Mary since a 15-10 win in Norfolk in 2007. It was ODU's first win in Williamsburg since 2004 when the Lady Monarchs upended the 17th-ranked Tribe, 13-12. Old Dominion (4-7, 1-0) outshot the Tribe, 28-21, on the day and held William & Mary (2-9, 0-1) scoreless for over 20 minutes in the second half.
For the third consecutive game, three ODU players recorded hat tricks on the day as senior attacker Rebecca Reymann, senior midfielder Lisa Bernardini and senior midfielder Sarah Wright each recorded three goals apiece. Bernardini has scored three goals in three consecutive games while Reymann registered a hat trick in the second consecutive game and Wright has now poured in 10 goals in the last four games for Old Dominion. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Geary had five saves on the day while forcing a pair of turnovers and scooping up five groundballs in a strong second half effort.
The Lady Monarchs came out on fire in the second half, scoring two goals in the fist 24 seconds and three goals in 90 seconds as Bernardini, who was did not score in the first half, got in on the scoring immediately with a pair of goals while Reymann netted another for ODU. After W&M pulled back within two goals, ODU scored five of the next seven goals to salt the game away with long possessions.
The Tribe was able to pull within a goal at the 21-minute mark in the second half but then did not score again for 20 minutes while junior midfielder Shelby Davis, senior midfielder Rebecca Hartrum and junior midfielder Meredith Rogers each scored to put the game out of reach.
Trailing early in the first half in what was a defensive battle for much of the beginning period, the Lady Monarchs rallied back to tie things up late. With the Tribe leading 3-1, ODU then scored three of the next four goals to knot things up. Sophomore midfielder Emily Austerberry scored first for the Lady Monarchs while Reymann and Wright got it on the action. In addition, after making a save on a free position attempt from Reymann, Tribe goalkeeper Lucy Ferguson then lost the handle as the ball rolled in for a team goal.
After then exchanging goals, the Tribe was able to take advantage of an ODU offside penalty to capitalize just before the half on a free position attempt to take a 6-5 lead into the break.
Taelor Salmon, Maggie Anderson and Kyrstin Mackrides each had two goals to power the Tribe while Ferguson gathered six saves and two groundballs in goal for W&M.
ODU returns home for three of their next four games and opens CAA action at home on Friday against Delaware at 7 p.m. at the Powhatan Sports Complex. The Lady Monarchs also host Towson on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live video and live stats will be available for both games at ODUSports.com in addition to updates on Twitter at @ODULacrosse.