PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The newly ranked No. 15 Old Dominion field hockey team (7-6, 4-1) defeated No. 17 Temple (10-4, 3-2) 1-0 Sunday afternoon in Big East conference action.
"It was a tough game and we fought hard defensively when Temple put a bit of pressure on in the second half," said ODU head coach Andrew Griffiths. "We played well in the first half and we missed a few great chances to extend our lead before halftime. Overall, I am very pleased to leave Philadelphia with two conference wins under our belts."
The lone goal was scored in the first half by Rosario Villagra (her ninth on the year), who has scored eight goals in the last 4 games. This is ODU’s sixth straight victory and fourth consecutive shutout for ODU sophomore goalkeeper Megan Hept. For the moment, ODU is in sole possession of second place in the Big East. This is ODU’s first win on the year against a ranked opponent. The Lady Monarchs have outscored their last four opponents 21-0.
ODU outshot the Owls 17-11 and had four penalty corners to Temple’s two. ODU sophomore goalkeeper Hept made five saves and received her seventh win on the year. Temple goalkeeper Lizzy Millen made 11 saves on 12 shots faced.
ODU 1-0=1
TU 0-0=0
17:32 ODU Rosario Villagra (9)
Shots: ODU (17), Temple (11)
Corners: ODU (3), Temple (1)
Saves: ODU (5), Temple (12)
Three stars:
#3 Star ODU B Danielle Clutter/Christy Longacre
- Both Clutter and Longacre (seniors) have stopped opponents short recently, not allowing one goal to cross into the ODU net. Also, each combined for three shots on Sunday.
#2 Star ODU GK Megan Hept
-Picked up her fourth straight shutout (ODU record dating back to 2007) and has not allowed a goal in over 311 minutes.
#1 Star ODU F Rosario Villagra
-Scored the lone ODU goal in the first half and finished with five shots to help ODU win their sixth straight game.
*This Friday Old Dominion faces William and Mary at 5 p.m. at home and will be their charity’s game for pancreatic cancer. The team will be wearing purple socks. Fans are encouraged to wear purple and can visit this link to donate- www.pancan.org ODU also travels to face No. 1 Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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