CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - The No. 19 Old Dominion field hockey team (10-6, 6-1 BIG EAST) closed its regular season with a 6-0 shutout victory over BIG EAST foe Villanova on the road on Friday night.
"It was a strong team performance, which is what we wanted to do, how we wanted to play the last regular season game," head coach Andrew Griffiths shared after the game. "A lot of players were involved in the attacking play and in the goals, and they also locked down the defensive end."
The highlights of the match came in the game's second quarter, when the Monarchs scored four goals in just over eight minutes of play. Senior Alexandria Brewer started the rally with a goal off of a deflection in the 19th minute. Her classmate Tori Harwood then netted a goal three minutes later to give the Monarchs a quick 2-0 advantage.
Senior Erin Huffman beat Villanova goalkeeper Claire Borman in the 26th minute for her eighth goal of the season. Sophomore Riley Taylor then tallied the fourth and final goal of the quarter just over a minute after the Huffman score to give ODU a 4-0 lead going into the halftime locker rooms.
At the intermission, ODU held a 9-1 shot advantage, while holding the Wildcats to just one penalty corner in the game’s first 30 minutes.
Brewer added her second tally of the match in the 41st minute of play, notching her first multi-goal effort of the season.
ODU put up one more goal in the final frame, as Rebecca Birch netted her team-leading ninth goal of the season on an ODU corner opportunity. Alice Demars and Marlee McClendon each earned an assist on the goal.
Brewer netted her two goals on her only two shots of the day. Harwood had a goal and and two assists on her ledger, while Birch had a goal and one assist. Huffman and Taylor each scored their goal on four shots and Demars ended the game with two assists,
Sophomore goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray posted her fifth shutout of the season, after turning away the one Wildcat shot on goal.
"I felt that the players really wanted to push forward together and work for each other," Griffiths said. "The game didn't mean anything in the standings, but the team played with energy, played like it meant something to them, which is exciting to see at this point in the season."
Overall, the Monarchs’ defense held Villanova to just two shots and one penalty corner. The offense posted 16 shots, 12 of which were on goal, and five penalty corners.
"We will have time to rest and recover now, and turn our full focus to preparing for the BIG EAST Tournament next week," Griffiths would add. "We're excited to get there."
With the regular season in the books, ODU will travel to Hamden, Connecticut to the campus of Quinnipiac to take part in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship, presented by Jeep. The Monarchs are locked into the two-seed, which means they’ll face the three-seed Liberty in the first round of the conference playoffs, which will take place on Friday, November 8 at 2:00 p.m.
BIG EAST Tournament Tickets
The Monarchs are heading to Quinnipiac for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep, which takes place November 8-10.
To purchase tickets to see the conference tournament, visit www.bigeast.com/fhticketsor call the Quinnipiac University Ticket Office at (203) 582-3905. If you have any questions regarding tickets for the event, call the box office or email tickets@qu.edu.
All Session Ticket Info
- $12- Adult
- $7 – Youth (3-12)
- $7 – Group (10+ People)
- Free- College Students with a valid photo ID
Single Session Ticket Info
- $10- Adult
- $5 – Youth (3-12)
- $5 – Group (10+ People)
- Free- College Students with a valid photo ID