Sept. 13, 2012
Friday: ODU at UNC - ESPN3.com
NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 8 Old Dominion University field hockey team begins a four-game road trip this weekend against a pair of ranked ACC opponents when they face top-ranked North Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. in Chapel Hill and then travel to nearby Durham to face No. 17 Duke on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Old Dominion (3-2) is coming off a 5-1 win over Radford in their home opener last Sunday at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. Five different Lady Monarchs scored in the victory as freshman Sarah Breen, senior Maartje van Rijswijk and junior co-captain Kati Nearhouse each recorded a goal and an assist. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Marla Petriello made her first start of the season and picked up three saves as ODU outshot the Highlander in the game, 38-4.
ODU is ranked eighth in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Lady Monarchs have been ranked in the top-10 for 13 consecutive weeks dating back to last season.
The Lady Monarchs have spread the wealth this season on the offensive end as Breen leads the team in goals with four while sophomore Kelsey Smither is the CAA’s leader is assists with four. Nearhouse has added two goals and two assists while sophomore Rosario Villagra has two goals and three assists. Senior Kimberly Oakes and redshirt junior Christy Longacre have two goals apiece as well.
After upending No. 1 Maryland on Aug. 31 in College Park, ODU will gets it second crack at taking down the top ranked team in the country in three weeks Friday night when they meet No. 1 North Carolina (5-1) in a game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.com. That Tar Heels cruised last weekend with a 6-0 win at Delaware and a 10-0 decision over Villanova. The lone loss on the year for UNC came at No. 7 Syracuse in overtime, 1-0, on Sept. 1. Senior Kelsey Kolojejchick has four goals and nine assists while senior Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany has six goals and four assists to lead North Carolina. Sophomore goalie Sassi Ammer has a 0.59 goals against average with 12 saves and just three goals allowed on the year.
No. 17 Duke (2-4) faces No. 25 Richmond on Friday before facing ODU on Sunday and the Blue Devils come in reeling a bit having lost both games last weekend. On Saturday, they were bested by No. 14 Wake Forest in overtime, 3-2, and then fell at home to No. 11 Northwestern, 4-2. Six players on Duke’s roster will be competing for the U.S. in the Pan Am games this weekend and will not be playing for the Blue Devils. Sophomore Jessica Buttinger leads the way for Duke with three goals and an assist. Sophomore goalie Lauren Blazing has a 2.32 goal against average and has 20 saves while allowing 12 goals this season.
North Carolina holds the slim lead in the all-time series with Old Dominion, 36-34-2. The two teams met twice in 2011 with the visiting team winning both times. ODU won in mid-September in Chapel Hill, 3-1 to upset the top-ranked Tar Heels. In late October, No. 2 UNC returned the favor and downed No. 1 ODU in overtime in Norfolk, 3-2. ODU holds a 22-13 all-time advantage over Duke as the teams meet three times a year ago with each contest decided by just a single goal. No. 2 ODU won in double overtime at No. 6 Duke in September, 3-2, while No. 7 Duke upended No. 1 ODU in mid-October in Norfolk in overtime, 2-1. The Lady Monarchs then punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament semifinals in Louisville with a thrilling 2-1 in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Norfolk.
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