The ODU Soccer Monarchs (11-5-1) return to action Sunday afternoon in Washington, DC to take on the sixth seed Georgetown Hoyas (13-4-2) in an the NCAA second round match-up. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at Shaw Field. ODU advanced to the next round with a 5-1 victory over CAA champion Drexel Thursday night.
ODU and Georgetown have met four previous times, with the Monarchs leading the series, 3-1. The two last met in a regular season match in 2001 with the Monarchs winning, 2-1. The two teams have also played each other in pre-season exhibition matches each of the last two years, with ODU winning last August, 1-0.
The Monarchs have reached the NCAA tournament four straight years and 10 of the last 12 under head coach Alan Dawson. This is the eighth trip to the second round. Dawson, now in his 17th season at ODU has a 193-103-31 record at ODU and a 322-133-41 overall mark in 25-plus seasons. He is the third winningest coach in C-USA.
Three Monarchs earned C-USA All-Conference honors. Senior co-captains Tim Hopkinson and Jason Gaylord were named first team and senior goalkeeper Sean Stowe was selected to the second team. Freshmen Jesse Miralrio and Cole Stringer were named to the All-Rookie team.
ODU senior forward Tim Hopkinson, the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year leads the league in both total goals with 12 and total points with 28. He currently ranks 11th national in total goals and 15th nationally in total points. Hopkinson is ODU’s fourth all-time leader in career goals with 33 and third all-time scorer with 87 career points.
Junior Ivan Militar leads C-USA in assists with nine and ranks 12th nationally in that category, while goalkeeper Sean Stowe has a 1.22 goals against average and a .762 saves percentage.
The Monarchs are 2-2-1 this season against nationally ranked teams. ODU defeated fellow C-USA rivals Tulsa and UAB, lost to New Mexico and in overtime to Creighton and tied Maryland.
Georgetown currently ranks No. 7 in the NSCAA poll, and are led by senior forward Steve Neumann, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, senior midfielder Joey Dillon, the Co-Midfielder of the Year and Tomas Gomez, the co-Goalkeeper of the Year.
Live stats and a webcast will be available at www.GUHoyas.com. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.