No. 2 Seed Old Dominion (10-6, 6-1 BIG EAST) vs. No. 3 Seed Liberty (10-7, 5-2 BIG EAST)
Game Info – Friday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. - BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep Semifinal
Location – Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium (Hamden, Conn.)
NORFOLK, Va. - The No. 2 seed Old Dominion field hockey team will face off against the No. 3 seed Liberty in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep on Friday, November 8 at 2:00 p.m.
The Monarchs will look to keep their momentum going, as they roll into the conference tournament winners of three of their last four matchups. Against BIG EAST teams, ODU is currently on a five-game winning streak dating back to October 4.
This past week, ODU dispatched Villanova, 6-0 in the team’s final game of the regular season. Senior Alexandria Brewer netted two goals in the effort, her first multi-goal game of the season. Her classmate Tori Harwood assisted on both of the Brewer goals and scored one herself, while Rebecca Birch tallied a goal and an assist to her ledger in the win.
Defensively, the Monarchs held the Wildcats to just two shots and one penalty corner, giving sophomore goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray a clear path to her fifth shutout of the season.
Birch leads the team in goals and points, with nine and 25, respectively. Senior Erin Huffman is one goal off the team lead, going into the conference tournament with eight goals and 17 points. Two other Monarchs have double-digit point totals, as Brewer has 12 points and four goals, while sophomore Riley Taylor has 16 points. Junior Marlee McClendon leads the team with nine assists on the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray has been in goal for every minute of every game this season and has accrued 61 saves while posting five shutouts.
Earlier in the season on October 11, the then-No. 22 Monarchs battled the then-No. 15 Flames to a 3-2 victory on the road. Harwood scored two goals, including the game winner in the 50th minute of action to give ODU the upset victory.
The winner of this matchup will face the winner of the No. 1 seed Connecticut vs. No. 4 seed Providence semifinal game on Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the BIG EAST Championship Game. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2019 Division I Field Hockey Championship.
About Liberty
Liberty, the No. 19 team in the nation according to the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll, is coming off a 1-2 week to wrap up its regular season, losing 1-0 on the road against No. 6 Virginia on Monday, beating Providence 2-0 on Friday to secure the three seed in the conference playoffs, followed by an overtime defeat at home against No. 4 Duke, 3-2 on Sunday.
In their game against the Friars, the Flames earned their seventh shutout of the season, holding Providence to just four shots on goal. Freshman Daniella Rhodes scored her team-leading 13th goal in the effort, a mark that places her third in the conference, while senior Allison Schaefer posted her seventh shutout of the season. After leading the defense to a shutout of Providence, and scoring a goal in the loss to Duke, senior Mallory Fortenbaugh came away with the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award.
As a team, Liberty ranks 12th in the nation and second in the conference in goals per game, averaging just under three goals with a mark of 2.94 per game. In turn, their scoring margin of 1.56 per game also ranks second in the conference behind only UConn.
Series History
After their victory over Liberty earlier this season, the Monarchs now hold a 3-4 record against the Flames in their seven total matchups. The only time these two teams met in the BIG EAST Tournament was two seasons ago, when Liberty dispatched ODU, 3-1 in the semifinal round.
Follow Along
As always, fans of the Monarchs can follow along with all the action from home if they can’t make it to the game. A live stream of all the games in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Caffeine TV. In addition to appearing on Caffeine, BEDN events will be co-streamed on YouTube Live via the conference's official YouTube Channel as well as the conference’s Twitter page
The game also features a Live Stats webpage that is up to the minute with all the action taking place on the field. For more information on the conference playoffs, fans can visit the BIG EAST's Tournament Central Page.
Fans can also follow ODU field hockey’s Twitter page for game updates and information by clicking here.
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/fhtickets or 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