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NORFOLK, Va. - The eighth-ranked Old Dominion University field hockey team held off a late surge by Duke on Sunday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex to sweep the season series from the Blue Devils with a 3-2 victory.
Defense prevailed for much of the opening half of action until the 30th minute when redshirt sophomore Nicole Goff cashed in after her initial shot by Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing was saved. Goff put the rebound back on the right side for the game's first goal and a 1-0 halftime lead for the Lady Monarchs.
Duke (6-9) found the equalizer in the 44th minute when Amanda Kim slid the ball past ODU redshirt senior goalkeeper Marla Petriello on a pass from Emmie Le Marchard. Six minutes later off a penalty corner, freshman Sarah Breen roped in a shot in from 20 yards out on the left side on a great pass from sophomore Kelsey Smither to put the Lady Monarchs back in front, 2-1.
Old Dominion (11-4) would move ahead 3-1 in the 62nd minute when senior Maartje van Rijswijk dribbled up the end line on the right side and in front of the goal where she smacked it past Blazing on the left side. The Blue Devils responded less than two minutes later when Le Marchand moved into the middle of the circle and put it behind Petriello on a pass from Jessica Buttinger.
The Blue Devils pushed late to tie the contest and Le Marchand had a wide open look with under 30 seconds to go but pushed the ball right as ODU was able to prevail for their 11th victory of the season.
ODU outshot Duke, 12-9, while the Blue Devils had the edge in penalty corners, 6-5. Blazing had five saves for DU while Petriello had two for ODU.
Six of the last seven contests between the Lady Monarchs and Blue Devils have been decided by just a single goal.
Sunday concluded a season-high six-game homestand for Old Dominion who returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 21 when they travel to Harrisonburg to face James Madison at 1 p.m. in a CAA match-up.
Follow Old Dominion Field Hockey on Twitter at twitter.com/ODUFieldHockey and find them on Facebook at facebook.com/ODUFH.