NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team earned a convincing 19-2 victory over VCU on Saturday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
The Lady Monarchs are now 7-2 for the first time since 1980, matching the best nine-game start to a season in program history.
"I am really excited about today," said head coach Heather Holt. "We came out strong right away and I think that that was the key to the game. We really set the tone early to have a fast game and then kept our pace up the whole game."
Old Dominion (7-2) jumped out to an early lead, scoring two goals in the first 42 seconds of the game. The Lady Monarchs continued to pour it on in the first half, outscoring VCU (2-6), 12-1, in the first half.
Junior midfielder Connor Carson played a key role in the Lady Monarchs' hot start, scoring three of her game-high four goals in the first five minutes of play. Fellow midfielder Natalie Ledwitz and attacker Morgan Marrale also netted a pair of goals in the opening half.
"Our midfield played superbly," said Holt. "They had some great breakouts from our goalie and taking it all the way down the field. They made good choices and got ahead of the ball and that enabled us to get a leg up and have fastbreak situations."
At the half, ODU outshot the Rams, 22-5, and held an 11-3 edge in draw controls.
The Lady Monarchs continued their momentum into the second half, once again holding the Rams to just one late goal and outscoring VCU, 7-1, in the second half.
Overall, a total of eight different Lady Monarchs found the back of the net, including seven who registered multiple goals. Carson led all goal scorers with four goals, while Marrale added three goals and three assists and Megan Topper contributed three goals and an assist.
Megan Cameron, Ledwitz, Mary Margaret McCaleb and Ashmore Standing also netted a pair of goals for the Lady Monarchs. Freshman Sophia Richie rounded out the scoring for ODU, scoring her first career goal on a free position attempt in the second half.
Defensively, ODU was led by Morgan Gallagher, who recorded a team-high three caused turnovers. Standing and Alyssa Sebesto each caused two turnovers, while Missy Koscinski collected three ground balls. Carson led the team in draw controls with six.
In goal, Maggi Buckley played the full 60 minutes, making five saves.
UP NEXT
ODU begins Atlantic Sun play next weekend, as the Lady Monarchs host Furman on Sunday, April 3, at 12 p.m. Admission is free for all fans.
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