NORFOLK, Va. – No. 17 ODU will close out the regular season this weekend against Georgetown on Friday and No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday. Old Dominion will honor the team’s five seniors prior to the start of the match against UNC on Sunday.
The Lady Monarchs have played in 16 matches so far this season and are currently on a four-game winning streak. Old Dominion is averaging 2.3 goals, 1.75 assists and 6.4 points per game.
Senior forward Rosario Villagra is leading the way for ODU with 24 points on seven goals and 10 assists. Junior Megan Hept has played 1062.50 minutes in goal for ODU. She has recorded a 1.38 goals-against average and a .712 save percentage. She has also posted five shutouts.
Live Action
The Georgetown game will be broadcast on College Sports Live. You can also follow along with live stats here.
Fans who cannot make it to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Sunday 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.
Series Record vs. Georgetown
The Lady Monarchs and the Hoyas have met only once in the short series history. The two teams met for the first time last season and ODU came out on top by a score of 7-0.
Scouting Georgetown
Georgetown enters the match with a 5-10 overall record and a 0-4 BIG EAST mark after the Hoyas fell to Temple 0-4, on Friday afternoon. Temple notched one goal in the first half, but tacked on three more in the final period to secure the win. Amber Youtz, the BIG EAST leader in goals and points, tallied three goals for the Owls. Hoyas’ keeper Rachel Skonecki made nine saves on the day, but also allowed four goals across 70 minutes. The Hoyas recorded two shots, none of which were on target.
Allyah Graves-Brown leads the team with 13 points on the season off of five goals and three assists. Emily Weinberg is second with five goals and one assist to total 11 points. Skonecki has played the majority of the minutes in goal for Georgetown, recording 81 saves and a 3.96 goals-against average.
Series Record vs. North Carolina
North Carolina has the 40-35-2 advantage in the all-time series with Old Dominion that started in 1978. The Tarheels are one of three teams the Lady Monarchs have a losing record against out of the 74 teams the program has faced. Maryland (24-27-1) and High Point (0-1) are the other two schools. ODU faced UNC twice last season, splitting the games. The Lady Monarchs fell to the top-ranked Tarheels, 3-0, in their fifth game of the season, but bounced back to defeat North Carolina when they were ranked No. 2 in the country, 3-2, in overtime at home.
Scouting North Carolina
No. 1 North Carolina enters the weekend with a 15-2 overall record after taking down Pacific on Sunday. Emma Bozek led the Tarheels with a hat trick, as UNC posted a 7-0 victory over the Tigers. Emily Wold and Nina Notman each tallied two assists. The Tarheels outshot the Tigers, 24-4 and had a 10-0 edge in penalty corners. Sassi Ammer picked up the shutout win, finishing with one save.
Loren Shealy leads the Tarheels’ offense with 35 points on the season. She has tallied 10 goals and eight assists. Notman and Bozek are tied for second on the team with 26 points apiece. Ammer has played the majority of the minutes in goal for North Carolina, recording a 1.26 goals-against average and 16 saves.
Taking a Defensive Stand
The Lady Monarchs are on a four-game winning streak largely due to the way the defense has been playing. The back third has only allowed three goals in four games and held each team to 10 shots or less. Overall, ODU has only allowed 33 total shots and 18 shots on goal. The defense has also only allowed 15 penalty corners over the four games, while Kelly Weaver and Megan Hept have combined for 15 saves.
Did You Know?
Did you know that Old Dominion ranks in the top-5 amongst all divisions on the NCAA All-Time Winningest Teams Record Book? The Lady Monarchs rank third all-time by percentage (.787) behind TCNJ (.827) and Bloomsburg (.874). The team also ranks fourth in terms of victories (631) behind TCNJ (639), Bloomsburg (643) and Lock Haven (761). To further this note, the Lady Monarchs rank first in both categories amongst division I programs.
Current NFHCA Rankings
The Lady Monarchs stayed at No. 17 in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I poll. ODU still has to face No. 1 North Carolina before heading into the BIG EAST Tournament. 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 Providence, R.I. for the 2014 BIG East Tournament on Nov. 7 and 9. More information regarding the tournament will be posted at a later date.
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