By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion field hockey team is intent on winning the Big East Tournament and thus assuring the Monarchs an NCAA Tournament bid. But if it comes down to an at-large bid, ODU made a huge addition to an already impressive resume Sunday afternoon.
Alix Marien, a freshman midfielder from Kapellen, Belgium, scored two goals, the last with 11:45 to play in the fourth quarter, to lead the Monarchs over Virginia, 2-1, at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
The victory gave the Monarchs a two-game sweep of UVa, a Power 5 school and traditional ACC powerhouse that came into Sunday's game ranked 14th in the NCAA Coaches' Poll.
ODU (11-3), ranked 18th, has won seven of its last eight and 11 of its last 13 games, including a 2-1 victory in Charlottesville over the Cavaliers last month.
And while this won't go into the box score, ODU won without its leading scorer, Marlon de Bruijne, a sophomore from Den Bosch, Holland, who leads the Monarchs with 10 goals and five assists. She has missed four games but is expected to return to ODU's lineup soon.
"We won the first game against them with a little bit of luck," Marien said. "They are a really good team from a great conference, and we knew it would be tough because they would want revenge.
"But we played as a team and won."
The score was 1-1 heading into the fourth quarter, but UVa (7-6) seemed to be playing more aggressively. ODU coach Andrew Griffiths essentially told his players to relax and enjoy the experience.
"This the best part of college athletics," he said he told them. "You're late in October, playing against a really good team in front of a pretty good crowd (361 spectators) and you're tied.
"These are the things you're going to remember. It's the absolute best and let's make it even better. Let's go and finish it off, play with confidence and enjoy it."
Marlee McClendon, the sixth-year player from Virginia Beach, set up Marien's second goal beautifully with a high shot from the left side that Marien deflected into the net.
At the 8:50 mark, UVa gained a man advantage for two minutes after a Monarch was assessed a green card, but the Cavaliers failed to score, not even after long-time coach Michele Madison pulled goalie Tyler Kennedy for the final 5:16.
ODU goalie Cam MacGillivray, a Canadian and redshirt senior from Calgary, Alberta, had three saves.
"Cam has really been playing well for us lately," Griffiths said.
"That's the best game we've played this year. We moved the ball well. We defended well. Our two words for the game were 'we're tough and together' and we did both of those things.
"Virginia's a really good team, really talented and dangerous. I'm really proud of how we played today."
Freshman midfielder Frederique Zandbergen's contributions also didn't make the box score, but Griffiths said she played a great game. "She made a lot of important tackles on defensive plays," he said. "And she also created a lot of opportunities cutting through the midfield."
As for the NCAA Tournament he said "we're not looking ahead. But we feel if we win out from here, we stand a good chance of getting an at-large bid.
"But you can never control the what-ifs. Our team has been quite good of following what we do from game to game."
ODU finishes with home games against Temple on Friday and William & Mary on Sunday, then a road game at No. 9 Liberty on Friday, Oct. 29.
"We haven't really hit our full stride yet and that's not a bad thing because sometimes you hit it too early and you lose the edge," Griffiths aid. "I think now's a time when we can really start to buzz."
Marien, he added, is also starting to hit her full stride, and has helped fill the void left by the absence of de Bruijne.
"She's been playing well and showing glimpses of greatness and today she really kind of broke through," he said.
"It was great reward to see the smile on her face after those two goals."
ODU Field Hockey Adds to its Postseason Resume by Beating Virginia, 2-1
