NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (0-1) battled hard to the finish, but came up short by a 15-12 final against Louisville from the L.R. Hill Sports Complex Friday night.
Things started off well for the Lady Monarchs as junior midfielder Christina Rea scored the first goal less than three minutes into the contest. Louisville (2-1) responded with four consecutive goals, three by Nikki Boltja and one by Jamie Redding, over the next ten minutes to take a 4-1 lead.
ODU's junior attacker Jessica Liberty scored on a free position attempt and cut the Cardinals lead to 4-2. Lady Monarchs senior attacker Emily Austerberry scored the next two goals to cut the Louisville lead to 5-4.
Louisville and ODU would each trade three straight goals as Rea, Austerberry and freshman midfielder Connor Carson each tallied a goal to cut the Cardinals lead to 8-7 at the half.
Junior midfielder Ashmore Standing tied the game at 8-8 to the start of the second half with her first goal of the season. Louisville would answer with four straight goals of their own to maintain a 12-8 lead. Lady Monarchs freshman Carson would answer with two more goals with two assists from Austerberry to trim the Cardinals advantage in half to 12-10. Old Dominion's sophomore midfielder Mary Margaret McCaleb responded with two goals of her own before Louisville held on by a 15-12 final.
The Lady Monarchs were overmatched in shots by a 35-18 edge for Louisville. The Cardinals also edged ODU in draw controls by a 18-11 tally. Louisville took 24 ground balls to ODU's 10 and caused 12 of ODU's 18 turnovers.
Junior goalkeeper Karen Hayde collected nine saves while Austerberry, Carson and Standing all had two draws.
For Louisville, Nikki Boltja had five goals, while Faye Brust had four. Kaylin Morissette had a game-high eight draw controls. Ashley Herbst made two saves in goal to pick up the win for the Cardinals.
"We had a great effort and played really well and this is a whole new team," said senior defender Kallie McCormick. "Last year these guys [Louisville] blew us out and this year we actually gave them a run for their money. I was really proud of everyone from the attack to the defense because the attack shot and actually scored and the defense tried to hold them as best we could."
LOU 8-7=15
ODU 7-5=12
Goals- ODU: Emily Austerberry 3, Connor Carson 3, Mary McCaleb 2, Christina Rea 2, Jessica Liberty 1, Ashmore Standing 1. Louisville: Nikki Boltja 5, Faye Brust, 4, Cortnee Daley 3, Colleen O'malley 1, Jamie Redding 1, Laura Patterson 1.
Assists- ODU: Emily Austerberry 2, Jessica Liberty 2, Mary McCaleb 1. Louisville: Kaylin Morissette 3, Monica Negron 1, Colleen O'malley 1, Jamie Redding 1.
Shots: ODU (18), LOU (35)
Ground Balls: ODU (10), LOU (24)
Draw Controls: ODU (11), LOU (18)
Saves: ODU Karen Hayde (9), LOU Ashley Herbst (2)
ODU is back in action at home on Sunday at 1 p.m., when they host UC Davis in 'Purple Out' game for Cystic Fibrosis.
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