NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion University women’s soccer team opens its 2014 regular season this Fri., Aug. 22 at the ODU Soccer Complex at 7:00 p.m. against Liberty and then travels to George Washington for a Sun., Aug. 24th showdown at noon.
“We are excited to begin the season this weekend with our opening game against a very strong opponent in Liberty,” said head coach Angie Hind. “In order to grow as a team, it is important that we play against good teams and given the success Liberty had last year this will be a great first test for us. We then travel to George Washington, which is a quick turnaround but again I see this as an opportunity to see where we may be at in a fitness sense. The players have worked so hard this summer and we are coming together as a team.”
FRIDAY NIGHT’S LIVE STREAM IN HD
Friday night’s match against Liberty will be streamed LIVE in HD via Monarch Media as Ted Alexander (Director of Broadcasting) will be joined by former Lady Monarch goalkeeper Colby Owen. To access the live stream of Friday’s match, please click HERE.
HEAD COACH ANGIE HIND
The 2014 season will be the first for Angie Hind at the helm in Norfolk. Hind previously was an assistant national coach for the Scottish Football Association, as well as former head coach at Dartmouth College. In her time at Dartmouth College, she led the Big Green to a remarkable 54-38-8 overall record, an appearance in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and three seasons as conference runner-up. Hind looks to improve upon the Lady Monarchs 1-13-3 (1-7-2) season in 2013.
LADY MONARCHS COACHING STAFF
Joining Hind on the coaching staff are Michelle Barr and Mary Casey, who bring a wealth of soccer knowledge to the women’s soccer program at ODU. Barr comes to Norfolk after spending three years in her native Scotland developing the women’s soccer game at the Scottish Football Association as a National Youth Coach responsible for the Scottish National U15, U16 and U19 teams. Prior to her time in Scotland, Barr spent five years at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire as an assistant coach under the leadership of Angie Hind. Casey, a former Maryland standout, comes to ODU after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at North Carolina Asheville.
2014 LADY MONARCHS
ODU returns 14 letterwinners from a year ago, including their six leading point scorers from the 2013 season, as well as welcomes six highly touted freshmen, which showcases two four-star recruits by TopDrawer.com.
The Lady Monarchs played their one and only scrimmage on Aug. 14 at UMBC, where the Lady Monarchs prevailed 1-0 in overtime off an Jessie Klamut goal. Last season as a junior, Klamut led the team in points (nine) and goals (four). Klamut and fellow seniors, Taylor Smith and Alexis Thomas, were named the three Lady Monarch captains for this upcoming season.
“We are a very young squad with only five upperclassmen; however, instead of it being a negative I think it can be seen as a real positive,” explained Hind. “The older players have a good amount of playing experience and bring a calmness to our play, where our younger players give such energy and enthusiasm and a desire to try things. If we can get the balance right, I think we will begin to move this program forward. I know each and every one of them is committed to making a positive change.”
2014 LADY MONARCHS SCHEDULE
Old Dominion’s 2014 schedule includes six competitors that won 10 or more games in 2013, five opponents from the state of Virginia and 10 Conference USA foes.
“This is a challenging schedule that has been set both in the caliber of opponent but also in the fact that we are on the road a lot,” exclaimed Hind. “We play some very good programs who finished last year with strong rankings. Programs such as Liberty, UPenn, Radford and of course last year’s No. 1 ranked Virginia will provide us with some fantastic challenges in preparation for conference play.”
Hind continued, “Being part of Conference USA is still relatively new and with that brings an excitement from the returning players and of course a brand new challenge for our freshman and also for us as a coaching staff. Our overall aim is to get better individually and collectively. Whilst this may sound simplistic, that is our goal every single day. If we can do that and continue to show the same energy, togetherness and commitment to compete that the group has shown already, I think we will certainly move this program forward.”
ABOUT LIBERTY – Fri., Aug. 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex
Defending women's soccer champion Liberty University was unanimously voted the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference Women's Soccer preseason poll by the league's head coaches, as announced by the conference office. The Lady Flames collected all 11 first-place votes and 121 total points, and are the preseason favorite for the first time since 2010.
Along with the top spot, Liberty redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Holly Van Noord was voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches.
In 2013, Liberty went 16-6-1 overall and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after downing Radford in the Big South title game.
TICKETS FOR HOME GAMES
All single game tickets (seniors, faculty/staff, military and youth are $4, adults are $5, while groups of 10+ go for $3 apiece) can be purchased on game day at the ODU Soccer Complex starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Soccer voucher books (20 tickets which can all be used at one game or dispersed throughout the season) can be purchased at www.ynottix.com, the Constant Center box office or on game days at the ODU Soccer Complex for $25.
ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON – Sun., Aug. 24, at 12:00 p.m. at the GW Soccer Field
The George Washington women’s soccer team was selected to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the 2014 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Additionally, junior Kristi Abbate was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team as a forward while senior Alex Brothers earned a spot as a defender. GW reached the A-10 Championship for the first time in 11 seasons in 2013 after wrapping-up last season with an overall record of 7-6-5 and an A-10 mark of 3-3-2.
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