HARRISONBURG, Va. -- In a marathon affair in Harrisonburg, the 23rd-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team fell to No. 19 James Madison in penalty strokes on Wednesday evening at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.
With the game deadlocked at 2-2 after regulation and two overtime periods, James Madison (2-0) won the stroke-off, 2-1, to pull out the victory over the Monarchs.
"It's the story with our team in our first three games," said head coach Andrew Griffiths. "We play really high level hockey, but we are not showing discipline for 70 minutes. Today, we took a strong lead, and then in the second half, we were undisciplined as a team. Mental mistakes cost us the goals."
Old Dominion (1-2) jumped out to an early lead, as Alexa Ostoich and Erin Huffman both netted first-half goals to provide ODU with a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Ostoich, the reigning Big East Offensive Player of the Week, put ODU ahead in the 13th minute. Huffman then doubled the lead with a goal in the 18th minute off of an assist from Carrie Sensenig.
James Madison answered in the second half, as two goals from Ashley Gippe in the 38th and 59th minutes forced overtime.
In the first overtime period, freshman Anouck Vandersteen nearly won the game for ODU, but her shot in the 73rd minute ricocheted off the post. Both teams then went scoreless for both 15-minute ovetime periods, sending the game into the stroke-off.
Huffman converted the first penalty for ODU, but JMU answered with two scores to pull ahead, 2-1. JMU goalkeeper Caitlin Nelson then made a diving save on Amie Olton's potential game-tying stroke to give the Dukes the victory.
"We dominated the two overtime periods," said Griffiths. "We had a number of real quality scoring chances right in front of goal, but did not finish."
Overall, JMU held a slight 23-22 advantage in shots, while ODU had a 4-3 edge in corners. Kealsie Robles made 13 saves for the Monarchs in goal.
"We need to be better in our next game, tougher," said Griffiths. "We need to finish off our opponents when we have the chance."
Next up, the Monarchs remain on the road for a neutral-site game against Rutgers in College Park, Maryland, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
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