NORFOLK, Va. – A Marlon de Bruijne goal in the first overtime lifted the No. 18 nationally ranked Old Dominion field hockey team (1-1) over American (1-1) by a 3-2 score on Sunday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
"I'm glad we got this one and there were some good things that came from it, but to be honest I didn't think we played as well today as we did on Friday," said ODU head coach Andrew Griffiths. "I think our team has great potential going forward as a young group, but we still have to learn some lessons. American always plays really tough and aggressively; they are a good team that is very well coached."
American, who was coming off a 2-1 OT victory at No. 23 VCU on Friday, scored first on Sunday, when Imogen Hatton found teammate Noor Coenen to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Monarchs tied up the match, 1-1, after Meghan Smart slipped behind the AU defense on a corner and found the back of the net. Delphine Le Jeune was credited with the assist.
"This was a set piece we have been practicing all week," said Smart. "I thought our team worked hard and really well together today."
Three minutes later, ODU claimed a 2-1 lead after Le Jeune drilled a penalty stoke past the American goalkeeper.
"Set pieces are something we have really been working on and fortunately they worked for us today," explained Griffiths.
After a defensive battle in the third quarter, the Eagles tied the match at 2-2 in the 49th minute when Coenen played a pass into Hatton, forcing overtime.
6:54 into the first overtime session, Old Dominion took advantage of a penalty corner, as McClendon tapped a pass to de Bruijne, who dribbled to the right past a couple defenders before firing a shot in the lower left portion of the goal, which proved to be the game-winner on Sunday.
"A lot of the overtime strategy is about planning ahead during the game, so that you have something left in the tank for overtime" Griffiths exclaimed. "We rotated our midfield a bit more today than we did on Friday, which ended up paying off for us."
For the game, the Monarchs held a 7-3 advantage for corners, while both teams attempted 10 shots. Cam MacGillivray made five saves in goal for Old Dominion.
ODU will return to action on Friday, September 3, when the Monarchs travel to Harrisonburg, Va. for a 5 p.m. match at No. 24 James Madison. Friday's contest will stream on FloSports ($).
No. 18 Field Hockey Outlasts American in Overtime, 3-2
