HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite playing in less than ideal weather conditions, the 15th-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team picked up its seventh consecutive win over James Madison on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Field Hockey Complex. With the 3-2 victory over the Dukes, the Lady Monarchs improved to 6-3 overall on the season.
"It's good to get a win against another ranked team, and to bounce back from a disappointing result on Friday," said head coach Andrew Griffiths. "Each game we are figuring ourselves out a bit more in different areas. Our defensive corner unit was very strong today under pressure and we had some different players step up today. For example, Danielle Grega had a couple of nice goals and we got excellent goalkeeping from Kealsie Robles. The team's energy is great and we are ready to prepare for conference play next week."
Both teams had opportunities to take the lead in the first 20 minutes, as the squads combined for nine total shots. However, it was the Lady Monarchs who lit up the scoreboard first at the 24:31 mark on their sixth shot of the match, as sophomore Danielle Grega corralled a loose ball and faked the defender to send the ball into the top right corner of the cage.
Old Dominion was awarded a penalty corner in the final seconds of the first half, but senior Teisha King’s initial shot was saved by JMU keeper Sara Kraeutler. The Lady Monarchs entered the intermission with a 1-0 lead, marking the fourth time this season ODU has led its opponent at the half.
After six minutes of play in the second half, junior Megan Byas added the insurance goal with her first score of the season. Byas hit a rocket into the cage off a corner set up by freshman Chrissy Horn and junior Catalina Barahona.
JMU got on the board at the 46:50 mark when Miranda Rigg scored her fifth goal of the year off a deflected save. The Lady Monarchs responded with Grega again scoring just a minute later. Senior Sarah Breen spun around her defender and sent the pass to Grega on the left side of the cage who then slotted the ball into the right corner.
The Dukes made the game interesting by scoring with 14:34 left to play off a Hannah Hall tally to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of ODU. JMU had a chance to score off a penalty corner with 50 seconds on the clock, but freshman keeper Kealsie Robles saved Loes Stijntjes’ shot. With just 12 seconds on the clock, the Dukes got a diving effort from Danni Wilson, but the deflection went wide of the goal as the Lady Monarchs secured the 3-2 victory.
For the game, ODU held a 17-14 edge in shots, including an 11-9 advantage in shots on goal. The Lady Monarchs also led in penalty corners, recording nine to JMU’s five.
Robles picked up the win and finished the game with seven saves, while Kraeutler suffered the loss in goal.
The Lady Monarchs return to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Friday, when they host their first BIG EAST game of the season against Temple. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
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