NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion field hockey team (0-1) struck first but fell to visiting VCU (1-0), 3-2 in overtime on Sunday at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex, in the Monarchs' season opener. Riley Taylor scored both goals for ODU – the second multi-goal outing in her career.
"It's been a long time, and everyone was really excited to get out and play," head coach Andrew Griffiths said. "We didn't really know what the team would perform like in terms of energy with so many new players. Overall, with how we played and the energy and the attitude, I was really pleased with how we set the tone to start the season. Our players played hard, and they communicated well together. They played well together. End the end it was really disappointing not to finish it off."
The Rams won the match late into the first overtime period. Matie Sturm picked out the far corner from the right side of the circle, beating Cam MacGillivray with 72 seconds left in the frame.
ODU controlled the flow of the game, racking up 18 shots to the Rams' five. Critically, VCU put all but one attempt on target while the Monarchs hit the frame just nine times.
An aggressive start to the day saw Old Dominion hold the Rams without a shot attempt in the first quarter. Taylor tested VCU goalkeeper Sasha Elliott on her first attempt of the game, but Elliott was up to the task to keep the affair scoreless after 14 minutes.
The Rams had their first dangerous moment early in the second quarter. Skyler Padgett uncorked a shot from close range, but MacGillivray denied her from point-blank range. Bolstered by MacGillivray's stop, ODU clamped down and held VCU without a shot for the remainder of the half.
Old Dominion broke through on the doorstep of halftime. A shot from Marlon de Bruijne earned a penalty corner for the Monarchs. Delphine Le Jeune's initial effort was saved by Elliott, but Taylor was in the right spot to smash home the rebound at the near post.
A quick response from the Rams knotted the score just 95 seconds after the intermission. The Monarchs hunted for an answer in the third quarter, getting off five shots and forcing Elliott into one save.
The start of the fourth quarter played out similarly for VCU. Ashlyn Hughes needed only 42 seconds to slot home Emily van Hijfte's feed to put the Rams ahead, 2-1. That lead was short-lived as Taylor equalized in the 48th minute. Ilse Westera set up Taylor's second with a hard drive to the end line and a cutting pass across the goal mouth to Taylor.
Following her two-goal effort on Sunday, Taylor now has nine goals and 26 points in her career. Last season, the native of Virginia Beach, Virginia also put home two goals against VCU.
ODU had a stellar opportunity to go ahead again with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Following a penalty corner, Le Jeune drew a save from Elliott. The rebound fell to Jolene Ulichney, whose attempt was also saved by Elliott.
Elliott made seven saves in the winning effort. MacGillivray made one stop.
Old Dominion returns to the L.R. Hill Sports Complex for the start of BIG EAST play against Temple this Friday (Feb. 19) and Saturday (Feb. 20). Friday's match starts at 11 a.m. with a 3 p.m. start slated for Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live at odusports.com.
Field Hockey Clipped by VCU, 3-2 in Overtime
