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No. 16 Field Hockey Makes Second Straight BIG EAST Final with 2-1 Win over No. 6 Liberty

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No. 16 Field Hockey Makes Second Straight BIG EAST Final with 2-1 Win over No. 6 LibertyNo. 16 Field Hockey Makes Second Straight BIG EAST Final with 2-1 Win over No. 6 Liberty
Greg Carocchio


CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – The No. 16 Old Dominion field hockey team held off a late charge from No. 6 Liberty to win 2-1 in Thursday's BIG EAST semifinal at the Conshohocken Proving Grounds in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The Monarchs (9-4) are in the BIG EAST championship match for the second year in a row and will face top-seeded and seventh-ranked UConn on Saturday at noon.
 
In all, Saturday's clash with UConn will be the third BIG EAST championship match contested by ODU. The Monarchs made the conference final in 2013 – their first season in the BIG EAST – and in 2019, when they also topped Liberty in the semifinals.
 
"I'm proud of our team today," head coach Andrew Griffiths said. "It was another performance of quality, resilience and mental toughness. We controlled the tempo of the game effectively and played with real tenacity. Marlon scored two very nice goals, and Cam made some solid saves, but it was very much a team performance, with excellent play from individuals across the field and back to front."
 
BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year Marlon de Bruijne showcased her scoring prowess yet again, netting both goals of the game for ODU. The native of Den Bosch, Netherlands now has 15 this season – the most by a Monarch since First Team All-American and CAA Player of the Year Emma Batten scored 27 in 2011.
 
Old Dominion jumped ahead in the 18th minute. De Bruijne finished off a penalty corner routine by depositing the ball in the lower right corner of the Liberty goal. Jessica Gabriel and Alice Demars provided assists for the opening goal.
 


 
The Flames (13-3), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, threatened to tie the score some seven minutes later when Jodie Conolly's shot beat Cam MacGillivray but struck the far post. Just over a minute later, MacGillivray came up with a big save to keep LU off the board.
 
With the first half close to expiring, the third-seeded Monarchs scored what would be the match-winning goal. Rina Tsioles progressed the ball down the left flank before passing into the heart of the Liberty circle. The ball found Jolene Ulichney, who then shoveled it across to de Bruijne. With Flames goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen closing down hard, de Bruijne kept her nerve and finished the opportunity with just 17 seconds remaining in the first half.
 


 
The Monarchs led 2-0 at the break despite having just three shot attempts in the first half. ODU made the most of those chances, putting all three on target. Liberty took five shots in the opening 30 minutes, but four were wayward.
 
Liberty began a prolonged push in the second half, but the Monarchs dug in their heels. The Flames outshot ODU 6-1 in the second half and drew three saves from MacGillivray.
 
"Liberty plays fast and aggressively and puts teams under pressure, and we handled that with toughness and composure," Griffiths said.
 
The Monarchs kept Liberty at bay in the third quarter, thanks to a MacGillivray stop following a penalty corner, but the Flames finally broke through early in the fourth quarter when Jill Bolton set up Charlotte Vaanhold for her 10th of the season. From there, LU had one more solid chance to tie the game with a penalty corner in the 53rd minute. The Flames got off a shot, but MacGillivray stepped up with her fifth save of the day.
 
Thursday's win is ODU's second against Liberty this season. The Monarchs edged the then-No. 4 Flames by an identical 2-1 score on March 26.
 
ODU is now on a four-match winning streak, which matches its longest streak of the season.
 
Saturday's final with UConn will be the 44th meeting between the Monarchs and the Huskies. ODU is 24-19 all-time against UConn. The Monarchs have played the Huskies in every BIG EAST final that they have reached and are 0-2 in the finals against the eight-time defending BIG EAST champions.
 
The Monarchs are a 15-time conference tournament champion, including a run of 13 CAA titles in a 15-year span between 1991 and 2005.
 
"The team is having fun and playing hard, and at this point in the season that's an awesome thing to see," Griffiths said. "We are excited for Saturday."