NORFOLK, Va. – In a match that was both teams’ 2014 season opener, the Old Dominion women’s soccer team fell to Liberty, 1-0, on Friday night at the ODU Soccer Complex. A total of 624 fans were on hand for the action, which is the most for a home Lady Monarchs game since Sept. 17, 2010, when ODU took on NC State.
The first half saw a total of 10 shots, five from each team, as well as four total corners in which the Lady Monarchs attempted three. However, after the first 45 minutes of play, the score remained 0-0.
At the 62:24 mark, the Flames used a combo pass from Brittany Aanderud to Gabriella Mckee, which found Crystal Elmers who was able to slide her shot past ODU’s Erin Kinz on a 1-on-1, lifting Liberty to a 1-0 lead and ultimately 1-0 victory.
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 after going to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
For the match, Liberty took 12 shots, while Old Dominion fired off 10. The corner kick battle ended tied at four apiece. Liberty’s All-Conference goalkeeper, Holly Van Noord got the win after making two saves, while ODU’s Erin Kinz protected the net for all 90 minutes and accumulated three saves.
The Lady Monarchs received shots from Jessie Klamut (2), Jackie Stroud (2), Taylor Smith (2), Natalie Johnson (1), Jordan Jones (1), Deidre Bradley (1) and Grace Haverly (1). Liberty’s Britanny Aanderud led all players with four shots attempted on Friday night.
SERIES
With the loss, Old Dominion still leads the all-time series, 5-3.
NEXT UP FOR THE LADY MONARCHS: Sun., Aug. 24, at 12:00 p.m. at the GW Soccer Field
ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON
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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