NORFOLK, Va. – The 13th ranked Old Dominion Lady Monarchs took to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Friday night and cruised to a 5-2 victory over old CAA rival William & Mary. ODU’s three-game winning streak has propelled the team to a 4-1 record, while W&M fell to 3-2 overall.
With the win, head coach Andrew Griffiths recorded his 100th career win as a head coach. While at Lafayette, he posted a 72-46 record in six seasons and currently holds a 28-17 mark at Old Dominion.
Senior midfielder Sarah Breen led the Lady Monarchs’ offense with her first hat trick of the season. She currently leads the team with 15 points this season and is now just four points away from reaching 100 for her career.
Breen scored her first goal of the contest and gave the Lady Monarchs the 1-0 lead after converting on a penalty corner at the 24:03 mark that was initiated by fellow classmate Teisha King. Neither team would score in the final 10 minutes of the half, as ODU held a 1-0 edge going into the intermission.
ODU controlled the ball the majority of the first half, as the defense did not allow William & Mary to take a shot the entire 35 minutes. This was the first time this season that the Lady Monarchs held a team to zero shots in the opening half.
The Lady Monarchs took control of the game in the second period, getting four goals from three different players. Sophomore forward Danielle Grega scored for the second-consecutive game to give ODU a 2-0 lead at the 41:16 mark. After her initial shot was saved, Grega found her own rebound and fought off the keeper to find the back of the cage.
Victoria Rezette followed suit with her own goal 3:28 later when she deflected Caitlin Walsh’s shot into the left side of the cage. The ODU defense continued to stifle the W&M attack, allowing just three shots in 51 minutes of action.
Breen then scored back-to-back goals off a penalty corner to give the Lady Monarchs a commanding 5-0 lead with 12:13 left on the clock. Freshman Chrissy Horn tied a career-high with two helpers, as she assisted both of Breen’s goals.
William & Mary would get two goals in the final six minutes of the game from Amanda McAteer and Emma McLeod, but it was not enough to overcome the five goal deficit.
For the game, the Lady Monarchs held a commanding 19-8 advantage in shots and an 11-7 edge in penalty corners.
Freshman Kealsie Robles picked up her third-straight win in goal for ODU and finished the contest with four saves. Meredith Savage suffered the loss to fall to 3-2 on the year, completing the game with six saves.
The Lady Monarchs will be back in action next weekend when they travel to the state of North Carolina to take on No. 12 Wake Forest and No. 4 Duke. ODU will face the Demon Deacons on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and the Blue Devils on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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