NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion lacrosse team returns to the field this weekend for their last regular season tune-up before the Atlantic-Sun Conference Championships.The Monarchs will travel up Washington, D.C. to take on the Howard Bison at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. ODU is just one win away from tying the program record for wins in a season (2002 – 13-5).
ODU enters the matchup with a 12-4 overall record and a 5-1 mark in league play. The team is in great position to enter the upcoming tournament as the No. 2 seed after defeating Detroit Mercy, 16-9, last weekend. Ashmore Standing led the attack with six goals and two assists, marking just the 10th time this season an A-Sun player has notched eight or more points in a game. For her efforts, she was named the Atlantic-Sun Player of the Week. Connor Carson chipped in with three goals and one assist to go along with her four draw controls, while Missy Koscinski recorded two caused turnovers and two ground balls to lead the defense.
As a team, the Monarchs rank ninth in the nation in caused turnovers per game with 10.06 and seventh in ground balls per game, averaging 19.44 per contest. ODU also ranks in the top-25 in saves percentage (12 - .481), scoring offense (15 – 13.44), win percentage (16 - .750) and scoring margin (21 - 4.00).
Standing leads the Monarchs with a combined 60 points on a conference-leading 43 goals to go along with her 17 assists. She has also chipped in 24 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers and 14 draw controls. Jessica Liberty is just nine points away from Standing with 51 points on 42 goals and nine assists. Standing ranks 25th in the nation in goals and 21st in points, while Liberty is 30th in goals scored. Carson ranks third on the team with 39 points (34g, 5a), but ranks first on the team with 26 caused turnovers and 50 draw controls. Her caused turnover mark not only leads the conference, but ranks 28th in the country.
The Bison enter the weekend with a 0-9 record and a 0-6 mark in the conference and is coming off a 16-4 loss to Furman. Jaymie Cox led the offense with two goals, while two other players added a goal of their own. Jasmine Wilson played the entire game in goal and finished with nine saves. Overall, Aria Williams leads the Bison with 27 points on 25 goals and two assists. Cox is not far behind with 24 points (23g, 1a), while Natia Warren has notched 12 points on 11 goals and one assist. Wilson has played the majority of time in goal and has made 61 saves and recorded a 20.08 goals-against average in her 370:35 minutes between the pipes.
The Monarchs will be back in action next week for the Atlantic-Sun Conference Championships, April 29 – May 3, on the campus of Jacksonville University. The event will be streamed on ESPN3 and there will be live stats available.
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