NORFOLK, Va. – No. 18 ODU will open up BIG EAST play when it takes on Villanova on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Lady Monarchs will then travel to College Park, Md. to take on the second-ranked Terrapins on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
The Lady Monarchs have played in nine matches so far this season, with six of those games being decided by one goal or less. Old Dominion is averaging 12.9 shots per contest, including 6.9 shots on goal per game. Senior forward Rosario Villagra is leading the way for ODU with 15 points on four goals and seven assists.
Junior Megan Hept has played all 642.50 minutes in goal for ODU. She has recorded a 1.31 goals-against average and a .721 save percentage. She has also posted two shutouts.
Live Action
Fans who cannot make it to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex can watch the action live on Monarch Media (subscription required). Live stats will also be available for the contest and can be found on the Lady Monarchs schedule. Twitter updates will be available from @ODUFieldHockey.
The Maryland game will be broadcast on BTN Plus and there will be a standard $9.95 subscription fee. You can also follow along with live stats here.
Series Record vs. Villanova
Old Dominion holds a slight 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Villanova that dates back to 1993. The Lady Monarchs have outscored the Wildcats 24-1 in the four games played and recorded their largest victory, 7-0, during the 1995 season.
Scouting Villanova
Villanova enters the match with a 3-6 overall record after the Wildcats fell to Rider, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Lawrence Township, N.J. Rider notched the first goal 9:17 into the matchup, but VU tied up the affair less than two minutes later when senior Abigail Freitag recorded her fourth goal of the season. Ten minutes into the second half, the Broncs took the 2-1 lead and with less than eight minutes to play in regulation, Rider netted another goal to make it 3-1. Keeper Jordyn Clipstone made five saves on the day, but also allowed three goals across 70 minutes. The Wildcats recorded nine shots, seven of which were on target.
Freitag leads the team with 12 points on the season off of four goals and four assists. Francesca Bello is second with four goals and two assists to total 10 points. Clipstone has played the majority of the minutes in goal for Villanova, recording 51 saves and a 2.43 goals-against average.
Series Record vs. Maryland
Maryland has the 26-24-1 advantage in the all-time series with Old Dominion that started in 1982. The Terrapins are one of three teams the Lady Monarchs have a losing record against out of the 74 teams the program has faced. UNC (35-40-2) and High Point (0-1) are the other two schools. ODU faced Maryland twice last season, splitting the games. The Lady Monarchs fell to the second-ranked Terrapins, 3-0, in their third game of the season, but bounced back to defeat Maryland when they were ranked No. 1 in the country, 3-2, in College Park.
Scouting Maryland
Maryland enters the weekend with a 7-2 overall record and a 2-1 Big 10 mark after taking down 18th-ranked Michigan State on Sunday. Maxine Fluharty opened the scoring for Maryland when she scored off a pass from redshirt sophomore Emma Rissinger just over five minutes before halftime. Junior captain Sarah Sprink scored on a penalty corner at the break to make it a two-goal lead for the Terps. Fluharty struck again eight minutes into the second period when she tipped in Sprink’s pass from the top of the circle. Less than two minutes later, freshman Moira Putsch scored on a redirect from senior captain Katie Gerzabek to make it a 4-0 lead for the Terps. The Terrapins outshot the Spartans, 20-13. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Brooke Cabrera picked up a save and held Michigan State scoreless through her 50 minutes in goal. Junior goalkeeper Jill Genovese came on and notched two saves.
Sprink and Anna Dessoye lead the Terrapins’ offense with 13 points on the season. Sprink has tallied five goals and three assists, while Dessoye has recorded three goals and seven assists. Fluharty and Putsch are tied for second with 12 points, with Fluharty notching six goals and Putsch recording five goals and two assists. Cabrera has played the majority of the minutes in goal for Maryland, recording a 1.47 goals against average and 14 saves.
Taking a Defensive Stand
The Lady Monarchs are on a four-game winning streak laregly due to the way the defense has been playing. The back third has only allowed two goals in four games and held each team to 10 shots or less. Overall, ODU has only allowed 23 total shots and 13 shots on goal. The defense has also only allowed six penalty corners over the four games, while Megan Hept has made 11 saves.
BIG EAST Leaders
Rosario Villagra ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in both points (15) and points per game (1.67), while ranking first in the conference in assists (7) and assists per game (.78). Villagra, Sarah Breen and Katy Fuhrman are all tied for sixth in goals with four apiece. Kelsey Smither is sixth in the league with four assists, averaging .44 per game. Keeper Megan Hept is fifth in saves with 31, second in goals-against average (1.31) and third in save percentage (.721).
Current NFHCA Rankings
The Lady Monarchs moved up a spot in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I poll, sliding into 18th place after their win over JMU. ODU still has to face five teams that are ranked in the most recent poll. Maryland (2) is up first this weekend, followed by Connecticut (6), Temple (14), Virginia (3) and North Carolina (1). To view the complete poll, please visit here.
Next up for the Lady Monarchs
The Lady Monarchs will be back in action next weekend when they travel to No. 6 Connecticut on Friday, Oct. 10 for a 6:00 p.m. matchup. ODU will then travel to Quinnipiac for a 1:00 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Oct. 12.