EAST LANSING, Mich. – After No. 19 Michigan State took a 1-0 lead at halftime, the 16th-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team scored four goals in a span of nine minutes in the second period to secure the 4-3 victory over the Spartans. The Lady Monarchs improved to 2-1 on the season, while Michigan State fell to 1-2 overall.
The Old Dominion defense held the Spartans to zero shots over the first 26 minutes, but let up a Michigan State penalty corner at the 26:26 mark. The Spartans took advantage of the opportunity, as Lauren Bonness scored her second goal of the season off MSU’s first shot of the game.
After attempting eight shots in the first 22 minutes, the Lady Monarchs had two chances to light up the scoreboard in the final two minutes before halftime. Old Dominion was awarded a penalty stroke that was taken by senior midfielder Emily Harting, but Michigan State goalkeeper Sierra Patton made the save. Less than one minute later ODU was given a penalty corner, with Harting taking the shot again, but her shot went wide of the goal.
ODU opened the second half on fire, scoring the equalizer just 2:14 in. Alex Iqbal knotted the score at the 37:14 mark off an assist from freshman Amie Olton. The Lady Monarchs wasted no time taking the lead, as ODU scored 1:17 after recording its first goal. This time, sophomore Danielle Grega found the back of the cage off another assist from Olton.
Old Dominion continued to attack and added an insurance goal five minutes later. This time, senior Teisha King scored by deflecting the ball into the cage off a shot by Grega. The Lady Monarchs didn’t stop there, as senior Sarah Breen scored the fourth goal of the game just over three minutes later. She found herself in a one-on-one situation with the keeper and put the ball into the far post, scoring for the third time this season.
Michigan State got two goals from Heather Howie and Grace Santi in the final 12 minutes, but could not over come the three-goal deficit as the Lady Monarchs secured the 4-3 victory.
Freshman Kealsie Robles got the start in goal and picked up her first career win after playing the entire 70 minutes. Patton suffered the loss in goal for Spartans, finishing the game with four saves.
Four different players scored for ODU (Iqbal - 37:14, Grega - 38:31, King - 43:34, Breen - 46:22), while Olton led the team with two assists. Grega also added an assist to her stat line. Howie, Bonness and Santi each scored for MSU, while four players notched an assist.
The Lady Monarchs will be back in action tomorrow, as they take on Kent State at 2:00 p.m. The game will be played at Ralph Young Field on the campus of Michigan State.
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