NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 22 Old Dominion field hockey team (6-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) returned home for the first time in five games and shut out Georgetown (5-6, 1-2 BIG EAST), 3-0, at the L. R. Hill Sports Complex on Friday night.
Senior Rebecca Birch led the way for the Monarchs, as she was involved in all three goals ODU posted on the evening.
In the 10th minute of action, senior Alexandria Brewer passed the ball through traffic to Birch at the top of the circle, who then deposited the ball in the back of the net to put the Monarchs on the board.
The next Monarch strike came on a penalty corner in the second quarter. Sophomore Riley Taylor inserted the ball to junior Marlee McClendon, who then teed it up for Birch who netted her second goal of the game and sixth of the season to give ODU the two-goal advantage. McClendon earned her team-leading sixth assist of the campaign on the play, while Taylor earned her fourth, giving her 10 points on the year.
Old Dominion took 14 shots in the first 30 minutes of play, seven in each of the first two quarters, while holding the Hoyas to just two. Georgetown’s Ciara Weets was forced to make six saves in the opening half.
Although the Monarchs took eight shots in the third quarter, they were held scoreless to start the second half. The team’s third and final tally of the night came in the game’s 52nd minute, when a Birch pass led fellow captain Erin Huffman to the top of the circle to rip her fourth goal of the season past Weets and into the cage. From there, the Monarchs would cruise to a 3-0 victory, their second conference win of the season.
This was Birch’s second multi-goal came of the season, and her five points on the night was the most she’s had in a game in 2019.
Overall, the Monarchs totaled a season-high 25 shots and seven penalty corners, while holding the Hoyas to just four shots and one corner opportunity.
ODU’s next match will be against a familiar foe, as the team will hit the road to Charlottesville to take on No. 8 Virginia on Sunday, October 6. The initial pass back is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. These two teams met in the season’s opening game, one that ended in a 3-0 win for the Cavaliers.