April 19, 2012
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University Women's Lacrosse team concludes their regular season this weekend with a road tilt at Hofstra on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and then travel to Drexel on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. for the regular season finale.
Old Dominion (4-11, 1-4) has dropped their last four contests in league play including a 9-7 loss at George Mason last Friday and a 12-8 decision to James Madison on Senior Day in Norfolk on Sunday in their final regular season home game. The Lady Monarchs still have an outside shot to make the CAA Tournament, which features the top four teams in the league. ODU must win both games this weekend and then get help from other teams in the league to force a tiebreaker scenario to get in.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Sarah Geary moved into second place on Friday night in saves all-time at ODU as she has now tallied 548 career saves. Geary is ranked 24th in the country in saves with 105 and ranks 11th nationally in groundballs per game with 3.07 as she has racked up 46 total on the season.
The Lady Monarchs continue to spread the wealth offensively featuring 15 different players that have scored this season and five players with more than 20 goals. Senior midfielder Lisa Bernardini (31 goals, 12 assists) continues to be on the CAA leaders in goals, assists and points while senior midfielders Rebecca Hartrum (25 goals, 9 assists) and Sarah Wright (21 goals, 5 assists) provide depth along with senior attacker Rebecca Reymann (21 goals, 2 assists) and sophomore midfielder Emily Austerberry (21 goals, 4 assists).
Hofstra (4-10, 3-2) sits alone in third place in the CAA standings and needs just one victory this weekend to clinch a spot in the tournament next weekend. The Pride dropped a 16-9 decision at Towson last Friday before downing Delaware at home on Sunday, 13-9. Freshman midfielder Brittain Altomare powers the Pride offense with 14 goals and 16 assists on the season while sophomore midfielder Jenn Ward (20 goals, 4 assists) and junior midfielder Jill Maier (20 goals, 2 assists) add offensive depth for Hofstra. Senior goalkeeper Jaclyn Pandolf has 131 saves and 133 goals against on the season while collecting 40 groundballs and causing eight turnovers.
Drexel (9-5, 2-3) currently is tied for fourth with Delaware after earning a 9-4 win at Delaware last Friday and then dropping a close 11-10 contest at home to Towson on Sunday. The Dragons are led offensively by a pair of scorers with over 30 goals in junior attacker Alyse Maiden (30 goals, 16 assists) and senior attacker Charlotte Wood (30 goals, 10 assists) with six total double-digit scorers on the season for DU. Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Santandrea has 77 saves and 109 goals against her this season while gathering 17 groundballs and causing sevent turnovers.
Hofstra leads the all-time series with ODU, 7-5. The Lady Monarchs have won two of the last three meetings with the Pride however, including a 6-4 decision in Norfolk last season. ODU has not won in Hempstead since the 2003 season. In the all time series with Drexel, the two teams have split their 10 all-time meetings. The Lady Monarchs have also won two of the past three against the Dragons including a 9-8 thriller in Norfolk in 2011. ODU is looking for their first win in Philadelphia since 2002.
Live stats will be available for both contests at ODUSports.com and updates throughout each game can also be found on Twitter at @ODULacrosse.