NORFOLK, Va.- The No. 5 Old Dominion field hockey team will be the No. 2 seed in the 2013 Big East Field Hockey Tournament being held Friday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 10 in Storrs, Conn. The Lady Monarchs will open the tournament, facing No. 14 and No. 3 seed Louisville (15-4, 6-1 Big East) on Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex.
The Lady Monarchs ended the regular season tying for first and claiming a share of the Big East title with a 12-6 overall record and a 6-1 conference record. ODU has won 11 games in a row, which is now the longest active streak in the NCAA. Old Dominion was awarded the No. 2 seed after an initial three-way tiebreaker was decided by conference goal differential. UConn was named the No. 1 seed.
The winner of the ODU/Louisville game will advance to play the winner Sunday at 1 p.m. of the No. 1 seed Uconn vs. No. 4 seed Temple, which is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m.
Big East Tournament Semifinal Weekend Preview:
No. 5 Lady Monarchs (12-6, 6-1) vs. No. 14 Louisville (15-4, 6-1) Friday 7:30 p.m.
Where: Storrs, Conn. George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex
Series Record: ODU Leads 2-1
Cardinals Report: Louisville played one conference game last weekend and the game finished as a 3-2 overtime win against Providence. Four of their five overtime games ended as a win.
ODU Report: Since Old Dominion played Louisville on Sept. 20 they have not lost one game. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Megan Hept and the Old Dominion defense have allowed an NCAA-low six goals during their 11-game win streak. Junior forward Rosario Villagra finished the regular season tied for first in the Big East with 41 points (UConn's Marie Elena Bolles and Chloe Hunnable had 41 points) and finished with a league best five game winning goals.
Louisville Players to Watch: Junior back Alyssa Voelmle and Victoria Stratton. Voelmle had six points with two goals and two assists. Voelmle leads Louisville with 11 goals, 27 points and 52 shots (19% of team total). Stratton had the opening goal this season against ODU and added the game winning assist in overtime to help Louisville achieve their first win in school history against ODU.
Last Two Meetings: Sept. 20, 2013 – Louisville came away with a 3-2 overtime victory. ODU midfielder Sarah Breen had both goals and scored her second goal with just 1:44 left to send the game into overtime. Louisville had three different players register one goal, while ODU outshot the Cardinals 9-7 and each team had five penalty corners.
August 30, 2003 -- Old Dominion defeated Louisville by a 3-1 final. ODU 2012 Hall of Famer Angie Loy assisted on the Lady Monarchs' first goal and put away the game winner in the second half to help ODU get the season opening win. The Lady Monarchs outshot the Cardinals 10-4 and had a 5-2 penalty corner advantage.
GAME COVERAGE
Live stats of Friday's game will be available at- http://www.uconnhuskies.com/multimedia/live-stats.html
There is no live video of Friday's second semifinal. Should ODU advance there will be video on Sunday.
Live in-game updates can be seen by going to- https://twitter.com/ODUFieldHockey
Reminder: Thursday night the Big East league awards will be announced.