NORFOLK, Va. - Emma Gervase took a crossing pass from Ece Turkoglu, and booted it into the net nearly six minutes into overtime to lift the Old Dominion women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over East Carolina Thursday night in the Monarchs' season opener.
It was the first game or match for an ODU team in the 2021-22 season, and although it wasn't a thing of beauty, coach Angie Hind loved her team's tenacity, especially in overtime.
"We spoke a lot to them about having to get the ball wide in overtime," she said. "ECU was so strong and direct up the middle, we had to find a way to get around them."
Turkoglu did that, blowing past a defender on the right side before finding Gervase, a senior midfielder, in a scrum in the front of the net.
The Monarchs were 4-5-2 during the spring season and were shut out five games. Hind has told her players they need to find goals by outworking their opponents.
"We talked to them a lot about getting in and getting dirty when it matters," she said. "We're a good soccer team. But that's only gotten us so far. We've often out-shot people but didn't always win.
"Now we need to do the tough part and that's exactly what that goal was."
ODU scored first, just 39 seconds, into the game when junior forward Megan Watts sent a shot to the right of ECU goalie Peyton English, who briefly got her hands on the ball but could not control it. The goal was unassisted.
ODU's Emily Roberts almost made it 2-0 four minutes later, but her shot hit the goalpost.
ECU quickly tied it up just 5:40 into the first half on a play in which the ball bounced the Pirates' way. ODU goalie Kasey Perry dove and blocked a shot by Carsen Parker, but the ball rebounded to her right, where Peyton Godbey knocked it into the open net.
The second half was a defensive slugfest, with neither team finding many good scoring opportunities.
A few minutes into overtime, Hind said she verbally "blasted" Gervase for not shooting.
"Sometimes when you blast them, it works," she said.
ODU had just two weeks of preseason camp and Hind said the team is a long way from hitting its stride.
"Tonight was all about finding a way to win because you can't prepare for this during just two weeks of preseason," she said. "Fourteen days and you've got to get a team ready to compete.
"I was proud of the mentality, but we've got a whole lot to learn."
The Monarchs host North Carolina State Sunday night at 6. The Wolfpack, which was 5-3-1 during the spring, tied No. 9, Georgetown, 2-2, in two overtimes in their opener on Thursday.
ODU Women's Soccer Team Opens Season with 2-1 Overtime Victory Over East Carolina
