NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 15 Lady Monarch field hockey team dropped a hard-fought battle against No. 13 Liberty Friday night at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex, 2-1. ODU fell to 5-3 on the season while the Lady Flames improved to 6-2.
Liberty was awarded a penalty corner just six minutes into the contest, but the ODU defense held strong through a barrage of shots, including two-consecutive saves from freshman keeper Kealsie Robles. ODU responded with a penalty corner of its own four minutes later, but Alex Iqbal's shot from the right corner was saved by Liberty keeper Mallory Cuccio.
Liberty’s senior forward Natalie Barr scored the first point of the contest in the 23rd minute of action off an assist from Bethany Barr to give the Lady Flames a 1-0 advantage.
In the waning minutes of the first period, it was the Lady Flames’ Natalie Barr who again found the back of the net, this time unassisted. Liberty was able to fend off an ODU attack in the closing seconds of the first half and took to the locker rooms with the 2-0 lead.
At the break, Liberty led the shot count 6-2 over ODU and each team had one penalty corner apiece.
In a second half dominated by the Lady Monarchs, ODU racked up five shots while Liberty did not attempt any. In the 60th minute of action, ODU’s Sarah Breen blasted a ball past the Lady Flames’ keeper for an unassisted goal, which was her ninth score of the season. With that tally, Breen hit 100 points for her career.
Despite multiple potential game-tying shot attempts late in the match and the Lady Monarchs pulling their goalie, Liberty’s stingy defense prevailed and notched the 2-1 victory.
For the game, ODU outshot Liberty 7-6 while both teams attempted two penalty corners. Liberty goalkeeper Mallory Cuccio recorded three saves, and the Lady Monarchs’ keeper Kealsie Robles made two on the night.
The Lady Monarchs will return to the field on Sunday, as they travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on the 19th-ranked James Madison Dukes at 1:00 p.m.
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