NORFOLK, Va. – After a three-game road stint,the Old Dominion women’s lacrosse team will take to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex for a key Atlantic-Sun matchup with Detroit Mercy. The Monarchs will host the Titans on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The ODU program will be honoring its five seniors prior to the start of the contes.
Old Dominion lacrosse has never faced Detroit and both teams enter the matchup with a 4-1 conference record. A Monarchs win over the Titans secures a second-place seeding and a first-round bye for the upcoming A-Sun Tournament on April 29 through May 3.
ODU will enter the matchup on Friday with an 11-4 overall record and a four-game winning streak after earning a 17-5 victory over the Furman Paladins. The win secured a spot in the conference tournament for the Monarchs, marking the first time ODU made postseason play since 2009. Christina Rea paced the offense with five goals and one assist, including the first three goals to start the second half. Connor Carson added two goals and three assists to go along with her two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Maggie Buckley played the majority of minutes in goal for the Monarchs and finished the game with 10 saves. For her efforts, she was named the A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week.
Overall, the Monarchs are led by Ashmore Standing, who leads the team with 52 total points on 37 goals and 15 assists, while ranking third on the team with 20 caused turnovers. Liberty is not far behind Standing with 50 points on a conference-leading 41 goals and nine assists. Carson chips in 35 points offensively, but leads the team with 26 caused turnovers and 46 draw controls. Her caused turnovers number ranks first in the league and 24th in the nation. Karen Hayde and Buckley have split time in goal this season for ODU. Hayde has stopped 83 shots on the year and has posted a 10.67 goal-against average and a 46.1 save percentage. Buckley has made 48 saves for a 7.61 goals-against average and a 51.6 save percentage. ODU’s keepers both rank in the top-five in the league in goals-against and save percentage as Buckley’s GAA and save percentage top the league and Hayde’s GAA ranks third and her save percentage sits in fourth.
As a team, ODU ranks 17th in the nation with 13.27 goals per-game and 33rd in the nation with a 9.47 goals-against average. The Monarchs also rank sixth in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game (10.20) and seventh in ground balls per game (19.73).
Detroit enters the weekend with a 7-6 overall record after beating Howard by a 23-15 margin. Jordyn Beam led the team with five goals and three assists, while Brittany Fenney and Tessa Keuler chipped in three goals apiece. Julia Darroch played the entire game in goal and made 13 saves. Overall, Keuler leads the team with 47 points on 24 goals and 23 assists. Amanda Guthrie leads the defense with 11 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls. Lexie McCormick has played the majority of time between the pipes for Detroit and leads the league with 120 saves. She has also notched an 11.90 goals-against average and a 47.6 save percentage.
The Monarchs will return to action on Saturday, April 25 for its last conference matchup with Howard at 1:00 p.m. in Washington D.C.
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ODU vs. Detroit Mercy (Saturday, April 18 at 1:00 PM)
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