NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women’s lacrosse team picked up their first Atlantic-Sun win of the season with a 13-8 victory over Stetson on Sunday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. The Monarchs improved to 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the league, while the Hatters fell to 2-8 and 0-1 in conference play.
The Monarchs scored the first goal of the contest just over two minutes into the game when Connor Carson notched her 22nd goal of the year with an unassisted tally at the 27:57 mark. Senior attacker Jessica Liberty gave ODU the early 2-0 with her 26th marker of the season 1:31 later.
Jill Chiachetti put the Hatters on the board at the 20:19 mark (2-1) off a free-position goal. ODU answered with two goals from Colby Muller and Christina Rea to take a 4-1 lead with 16:28 left in the first half.
Lindsay Summers brought the ODU lead back to two with 14:27 on the clock with a goal that was assisted by Hallie Merz. The Monarchs continued to attack offensively, ending the first period with a 4-0 run to hold a 7-2 lead at the intermission. Liberty paced the offense during that span with two goals, while Carson and Morgan Marrale notched the other two.
Stetson entered the second half strong, scoring the first two goals. Mary Katherine O’Sullivan and Christina Wittmeier pulled the Hatters within four goals (8-4) with 18:37 remaining in the game. ODU once again went on a quick run, scoring three goals in a span of 3:25 to hold a 10-4 lead by the 11:28 mark.
The Hatters never gave up and registered a 4-2 lead in the final ten minutes of the game, but the five-goal deficit at the half was too much to overcome.
ODU controlled the shot chart, recording 39 shots, just two off the season high, to the Hatters 20. The Monarchs also held a 24-29 edge in ground balls, while Stetson had a 12-11 advantage in draw controls.
Maggi Buckley started her first game in goal for the Monarchs, earning the win after stopping eight shots in 60 minutes. Whitney Meyers suffered the loss for Stetson, but helped keep the Hatters in the game as she made 16 saves on the day.
Liberty led the attack with four goals, which marks her fourth game with four or more goals this season. Carson also added three goals to go along with her two ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers. Muller chipped in with a goal and two assists and was just one-of-two Monarchs to connect on a free-position shot.
Chiachetti led the Hatters with four goals, while Summers added two goals and two assists. Meghan Moran paced the defense with two caused turnovers and one ground ball.
The Monarchs will be back in action this week, as they travel to Georgia to take on Mercer and Kennesaw State. ODU will face Mercer on Thursday, April 2 at 4:00 p.m. and Kennesaw State on Saturday, April 4 at 12:00 p.m.
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