Monarchs Can't Keep Up With No. 20 Richmond in 22-9 Defeat

NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion lacrosse team (3-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) held tough against No. 20 Richmond (7-0, 0-0 A-10) in the first half of play on Saturday afternoon, but the Spiders pulled away in the second half to down the Monarchs, 22-9.
 
"The first half was great, the girls came out ready to play and they played really steadily the entire half," head coach Heather Holt said after the game. "The second half we just didn't step it up and put it together for the whole 60 minutes."
 
The Spiders struck first, scoring the game's opening goal just over two minutes into action as Lindsey Frank beat ODU goalkeeper Brianna Blatter to put her team ahead. Senior Mary Katherine Maloney scored Old Dominion's first goal of the contest shortly after, her fourth of the season, to tie it up at one apiece. 
 
Richmond would score three of the next four goals to take a 4-2 lead before Glory Johnson netted a free-position shot to start a 3-1 run for the Monarchs to knot the game at 5-5. Sophomore Lilly Siskind tied the game with the extra-player advantage for her second goal of the contest. 
 
After the Spiders regained the advantage, the Monarchs registered back-to-back goals to take their first lead of the afternoon. Brooke Stein and Claire Porter each netted the unassisted goals to put ODU ahead. 
 
The Monarchs kept their lead for a little over four minutes before Julia Schmuckler tied the score yet again at 7-7. 34 seconds later, Arden Tierny put Richmond back on top with 4:06 remaining on the first-half clock for an 8-7 lead it would take into the halftime intermission. 
 
At the break, Richmond held a 29-12 shot advantage over ODU, forcing Blatter to stop 15 shots, her game high after just 30 minutes of action. The Monarchs earned nine successful clears, but the Spiders had the upper hand in draw controls and ground balls.
 
After just 46 seconds of play in the second half, Tess Meurling re-tied the game with her second goal of the season, knotting the score at 8-8.
 
After Meurling's score, the Spiders' offense erupted, scoring 14 of the game's final 15 goals, including a run of 10 unanswered goals, to down the Monarchs, 22-9. The score was tied a total of six different times before Richmond pulled away in the second stanza.
 
Blatter finished the game with 22 saves, the most by a Monarch goalkeeper in a game this season. Siskind's two goals led the team, while Stein ended the game with a goal and an assist. Johnson, Maloney, Meurling, Stephanie Allen, Claire Porter and Lindsay Baer all finished the contest with a goal on their ledger. The Spiders were led by Sam Geiersbach, who had five goals and five helpers on the day.  
 
Overall, Richmond posted 57 shots to ODU's 15, and only turned the ball over four times. The Monarchs ended the game with 14 successful clears, nine ground balls and seven draw controls.
 
"Our one-on-one defense was great in that first half," Holt said looking back on the strong first-half showing. "We really played as a unit and had some nice slides in helping defense and our goalkeeper was outstanding, but playing defense for 90% of the game is very tiring, so we just have to put it together and get it up the field better."
 
Old Dominion will be back in action on Wednesday, March 11 at 1 p.m. when it welcomes Quinnipiac to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex in the third game of a five-game homestand.