NORFOLK, Va. – No. 19 Old Dominion (8-6, 2-1 BIG EAST) picked up a conference victory over No. 16 Temple (10-5, 2-1 BIG EAST) by a score of 3-2 on Friday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
The Lady Monarchs came out of the gates strong, scoring their first goal just 3:54 into the match. Junior defender Caitlin Walsh (Downingtown, Pa.) dribbled around the Temple keeper to find an open senior forward Nicole Goff (Collegeville, Pa.) as she tipped the ball in for her first goal of the season.
Senior forward Katy Fuhrman (Columbia, Pa.) added an insurance goal at the 12:15 mark off an assist from fellow senior Kelsey Smither (Suffolk, Va.). Fuhrman is now tied for the team lead with seven goals, while Smither ranks second on the team with six assists.
Temple answered the Lady Monarchs scoring surge with two goals in span of 2:58. Amber Youtz, the BIG EAST leader in both goals and points, scored the first tally off an Alyssa Delp assist at the 20:53 mark (2-1). A little less than three minutes later, Delp added a goal of her own to tie the score at 2-2 with 11:09 left to play in the first half.
Neither team scored the rest of the half, as the game entered halftime with the teams tied at 2-2.
The second half proved to be a defensive struggle, as neither team scored in the first 21 minutes of play.
Old Dominion took the lead for the second time in the match off a penalty corner at the 56:30 mark. Sophomore defender Megan Byas (Driffield, England) sent the ball to the right corner of the cage and Walsh flicked the ball past the outstretched keeper to give ODU the 3-2 lead.
The Lady Monarchs defense held strong the rest of the period, allowing no shots from the Owls as the game ended in favor of ODU.
Junior keeper Megan Hept (Chesapeake, Va.) recorded the win for ODU, finishing the game with five saves, just two off of her season high. Lizzy Millen saw action for 69:38 before being replaced by a field player with 22 seconds left in the match. She finished the game with four saves.
ODU held a slight 13-10 edge in shots, while both teams recorded seven shots on goal. The Lady Monarchs also held an 8-5 advantage in penalty corners.
No. 19 Old Dominion will be back in action on Sunday when it travels to No. 6 Virginia for a 1:00 p.m. matchup. The match will be streamed here, or you can keep up with live stats.
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