NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion lacrosse team secured its third consecutive win by taking down Longwood on Sunday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. With the 19-7 win over the Lancers, the Monarchs posted the program’s best start since the team won its first three games in 2009.
After both teams traded goals during the first 10 minutes of play, sophomore midfielder Connor Carson sparked a 5-2 run for the Monarchs to take a 7-5 lead into halftime. Senior Jessica Liberty and Carson led the attack with two goals apiece, while three other players notched a tally.
The Monarchs came out of the locker room on fire, as they went on a 7-0 run in the first 7:19 of the second half. Carson and Liberty once again sparked the offense with two goals during that span, while junior attacker Ashmore Standing aided in the effort in with two assists.
ODU closed out the game with goals from junior midfielder Mary Margaret McCaleb, junior attacker Alex Danks, sophomore attacker Carly Williams, senior midfielder Christina Rea and Standing to reach the final margin.
The Monarchs led the Lancers in just about every category. ODU dominated the shot chart, recording 36 shots compared to Longwood’s 18. The team also led in ground balls (28-23) and notched eight more draw controls than the Lancers (18-10).
Senior keeper, Karen Hayde, picked up her third win of the year after she played 51:03 in goal for the Monarchs and made eight saves and scooped up a game-high seven ground balls. Sophomore Maggi Buckley closed out the game for ODU, finishing with one save in just under nine minutes of action. Longwood saw three goalkeepers earn time between the pipes, with Christian Acker playing the majority of the game for the Lancers. Acker suffered the loss and made seven saves, while Chelsea DiLonno and Imani West finished with one and two saves, respectively.
Ten different players recorded a goal this afternoon for ODU, led by Carson and Liberty. The duo paced the Monarchs’ offensive attack with four goals each. Carson also tallied a game-high seven draw controls, while Liberty added three ground balls and one caused turnover to her stat line. McCaleb and Rea added two goals apiece, while Standing chipped in two goals and two assists. Junior captain Morgan Gallagher paced the defense with three caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Sarah Arndt and Sarah Butler led the Lancers with two goals, while Butler added two assists to go along with her two ground balls and two draw controls. Liz Trainer paced the defense with four caused turnovers and two ground balls.
The Monarchs will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 27 when they travel to Virginia Tech for a 3:00 p.m. contest.
Follow @ODULacrosse on Twitter and 'Like' us on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest #ODULAX news!