LEXINGTON, Va. – The Old Dominion women’s soccer team took down VMI by a 2-0 score in the Lady Soccer Monarchs first game of the 2016 spring season.
ODU dominated possession in the first half against a determined, tough tackling VMI team. The Lady Monarchs started brightly, with Kira Laurento and Iris Achterhof attempting to find their range with shots from distance early on but failed to test the VMI goalkeeper. Twenty minutes in, Kathryn Hill rose highest to head an Achterhof corner towards goal, forcing the VMI keeper to mark a smart save over the bar. The best chance of the half fell to Madison Hogan, who fired wide from a narrow angle following a delicate pass from Deirdre Bradley. All in all, the first half was a frustrating one, with ODU playing excellent soccer but struggling to convert their play into goals.
The Lady Monarchs continued to attack in the second half, as their persistence paid off in the 57th minute. Grace Haverly floated an excellent pass over the VMI backline finding Melanie Oakes for a perfectly timed run followed by a low slotted finish. ODU made it 2-0 five minutes later as Hogan found herself in the right place at the right time to head home an Achterhof corner kick that the opposition failed to clear. The sustained attack nearly yielded a third goal but Achterhof's left footed cross-shot looped over the goalkeeper's head and rebounded off her far post.
From that point on, The Lady Monarch's defense looked largely unthreatened throughout the match, marshaled by center back Jackie Stroud, who made a confident return to action after a fall disrupted by injury. Melanie Oakes also made a positive return to action, looking threatening on offense and adding a goal to her efforts. Freshman goalkeeper Erin Davidson looked confident in her debut as a Lady Monarch, splitting a clean sheet with Erin Kinz.
Old Dominion will be back in action on Saturday, March 19 at Richmond at 1:00 p.m.
2016 LADY SOCCER MONARCHS SPRING SCHEDULE
Friday, March 4: at VMI – ODU defeats VMI, 2-0
Saturday, March 19: at Richmond (1:00 p.m.)
Saturday, April 2: vs. ECU (1:00 p.m.)
Saturday, April 9: at Longwood (2:00 p.m.)
Saturday, April 16: ALUMNI GAME/BRUNCH (12:00 p.m.)
Saturday, April 23: at VCU (2:00 p.m.)
BOLD indicates home events
*All times EST
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