NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University field hockey team finished their spring competition against American, Richmond and Duke University Saturday from the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
All four teams played each other in a round robin with two periods 15 minutes each, playing a total of six games throughout the day. Old Dominion began the Spring Play Day against American, one game later faced Richmond and finished the tournament against Duke.
Following the day ODU got together with the 7th grade field hockey players (Julia Baylosis and co.) from St. Pius X Catholic and had a group picture taken.
American 0, Old Dominion 0
Old Dominion controlled the pace for most of this game as the Lady Monarchs poured eight shots on net to American's four. ODU sophomore goalie Megan Hept made three saves to help keep the Eagles off the scoreboard. The Lady Monarchs moved to 2-0-3 following this game during the spring season.
Corners- American 0, ODU 1
Shots- American 4, ODU 8
Saves- ODU goalkeeper Megan Hept 3.
Richmond 0, Old Dominion 2
The Lady Monarchs and Richmond traded shots for the entire game but ODU's sophomore back/midfielder Caitlin Walsh managed to score off a corner (assist to Kelsey Smither and Katy Fuhrman) as ODU led 1-0 going into halftime. Richmond led in shots 3-2, while ODU had two corners to the Spiders zero.
Old Dominion received one more goal this spring from junior forward Katy Fuhrman (unassisted). Senior back Dani Clutter along with sophomore back Emily Harting provided goaltender Megan Hept the defense necessary to attain her fifth shutout this spring. The win moved ODU's spring record to 3-0-3.
Corners- Richmond 1, ODU 3
Shots- Richmond 6, ODU 6
Saves- ODU goalkeeper Megan Hept 4.
American 0, Duke 0
Duke and American both had chances to score in the first half but both teams could not find the back of the net. Duke led shots at halftime 3-1. In the second half Duke received one corner but American came away with another save and were able to clear. Duke freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Wagner started in net for the Blue Devils and came away with the shutout.
Corners- American 1, Duke 2
Shots- American 1, Duke 6
Saves- American 1, Duke 0
American 0, Richmond 0
Richmond began the game on the attack as the Spiders took the first shots but could not find the back of the net against the Eagles. Following the first half American and Richmond both had three shots apiece and each attained one corner. The second half began with Richmond receiving their second corner only to have it blocked. American received a corner and had two chances, but the Spiders were able to block both. American and Richmond ended the game tied at 0-0, while the Eagles did not allow one goal the entire day.
Corners- American 5, Richmond 2
Shots- American 8, Richmond 5
Saves- American 0, Richmond 1
Richmond 3, Duke 1
The surprise of the day occured in the second to last game at the L.R. Hill as the National Runners Up Duke Blue Devils fell by a 3-1 score to the Richmond Spiders. Duke goalkeeper Kelsey Wagner had to make the first two saves before Richmond came on the attack and junior midfielder Rebecca Barry scored the opening goal as Richmond led Duke 1-0. It would not take long as Spiders junior forward Blair Kline scored the second goal to give upstart Richmond the 2-0 lead into halftime. Richmond led shots 4-0, while Duke had one corner to the Spiders 0.
The second half began with Richmond junior back Helen Warner scoring off the Spiders only corner of the game. Richmond led 3-0. The final five minutes Duke looked like the 2013 National Runners Up as they dominated possession. The Blue Devils finally found the back of the net as junior midfielder Abby Beltrani scored on a beautiful feed from Hannah Barreca and Heather Morris off a corner to get Duke on the board. Richmond managed to hold Duke to two shots as the Spiders won 3-1.
Corners- Richmond 1, Duke 2
Shots- Richmond 7, Duke 1
Saves- Richmond 0, Duke 2
Old Dominion 1, Duke 1
A rematch of last weekend's scoreless tie in Durham (strokes going to Duke 1-0) ended in another tie this weekend from Norfolk. Duke received their only corner of the game in the early stages but were unable to get past the ODU defense and sophomore goalkeeper Megan Hept. ODU's sophomore midfielder Sarah Breen broke away from the defense and almost managed to score the opening goal, but the Duke defense held strong. Seven minutes later ODU received their first corner as junior forward Katy Fuhrman threw it in to junior midfielder Kelsey Smither who held it for Breen as the Lady Monarchs struck gold first and led 1-0. Into the break ODU led shots 3-1 and corners were tied 1-1.
Entering the second half Duke began with two quicks shots as the later found its way past Hept as freshman forward Heather Morris gave the Blue Devils the tying goal. ODU managed to received several corners down the stretch of the game, but could not score another past Duke sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Blazing. The game would not go to overtime or strokes and ended in a 1-1 tie.
ODU finished the spring with a record of 3-0-4.
Corners- ODU 6, Duke 1
Shots- ODU 9, Duke 3
Saves- ODU Megan Hept 1, Duke Lauren Blazing 4
A photo gallery of today's ODU vs. Duke game will be available on odusports.com and #ODUFH Facebook later tonight.
Up next for the Lady Monarchs: ODU hosts their Annual Alumni Event next Saturday, April 12 from the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. Time TBD.
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