CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 22 Old Dominion field hockey team (6-4, 2-1 BIG EAST) was defeated by No. 8 Virginia (9-3, 1-2 ACC) for the second time this season, falling 3-2 in overtime on Sunday afternoon on the road.
“We played well in this game, but made a couple of key mistakes that were the difference in the outcome,” head coach Andrew Griffiths said after the game. “It was a huge change in speed and skill level from Friday’s game, so it took us most of the first quarter to get up to full speed. After we woke up, we defended strongly and aggressively, and we also moved the ball up the field with speed and confidence. It was good to see.”
UVA struck first early on, as Annie McDonough deposited the first shot of the game passed Monarch goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead in the match’s second minute.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Monarch freshman Nicole Fredricks netted first goal of her career to tie the score at one. The goal came off of a pass from sophomore Riley Taylor.
At the intermission, the two sides were tied, 1-1. The Cavaliers held a slight shot advantage over ODU, 4-3, while both teams had one penalty corner opportunity.
Senior Erin Huffman scored her fifth goal of the season in the 40thminute of play, giving the Monarchs a 2-1 lead after deflecting a shot from freshman Alice Demars passed Virginia goalie Lauren Hausheer.
The Cavaliers would answer almost immediately to tie the game, as Anzel Viljoen scored on a deflected shot of her own into the Monarch goal just over a minute after the Huffman score. The two teams entered the game’s final frame tied at two apiece.
Neither squad could score the go-ahead goal in the fourth quarter, so the game would enter an overtime period.
Just like she did to start the game, McDonough scored early in the overtime period to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 victory, flicking the ball over MacGillivray and into the cage in the 62ndminute.
Overall, UVA held a 13-4 shot advantage and had four penalty corner opportunities against ODU’s two.
“I enjoy seeing our team play like this, on the front foot, with energy and passion, and you can tell they enjoyed it also,” Griffiths shared. “It was tough to concede that overtime goal after much effort, but the players are not hanging their heads. We are improving and growing as a team, and we are hungry to go after our next game at Liberty.”
The Monarchs will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to face No. 13 Liberty on Friday, October 11 in their fourth BIG EAST matchup of the season. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.