NORFOLK, Va. – Last spring, it was the Old Dominion men's tennis team whose lineup was decimated by injuries, and the Monarchs finished with a disappointing first-round loss in the Conference USA Tournament.
This spring, it's the ODU women's lacrosse team that has suffered perhaps a once-in-a-decade string of injuries, one that has masked what so far has been an otherwise encouraging rebuilding season for first-year head coach Theresa Walton.
ODU is 4-10 overall, and 0-3 in the American Athletic Conference, entering Saturday's noon home match against AAC foe Temple, and the Monarchs have lost four in a row.
Walton is in her 10th year of coaching and said "I've never seen this amount of injuries before," especially so many injuries to key offensive players – three of ODU's top five offensive players are out for the season.
ODU has suffered some blowout defeats – a 16-2 loss at No. 4 James Madison and a 20-7 home loss to No. 21 Richmond. But for the most part, the Monarchs have been competitive against a very difficult schedule.
The AAC is one of the nation's best lacrosse leagues and the Monarchs were competitive in their last outing, an 8-4 home loss against ACC foe Virginia Tech, which was a week removed from a 14-13 upset of No. 20 Duke.
The Monarchs dropped narrow defeats to Furman (9-8), East Carolina (7-5) and William & Mary (11-9). ECU is third in the AAC and ranked 31st nationally in the NCAA RPI.
Sophomore Sydney Taylor leads ODU with 19 goals and eight assists.
Walton said her players remain encouraged about the progress they've made, so much so that seniors Katie McGrain,Jessica Pisani and Ali Mills will take advantage of a fifth year of eligibility allowed by the NCAA because of the pandemic and return next season.
"They made their decisions over the last two weeks," Walton said. "They just feel like they have unfinished business and want to exhaust their eligibility.
"For them to make that decision right now, that tells you we have their trust and respect and they know the direction in which the program is heading. We're only going better from here."
The injuries began last summer in "captain's practice," in which members work out on their own, when midfield defender Emily Goline tore the ACL in her knee. Then, in early November, defender Lauren Carey went down with a similar injury.
Attacker Moira Olexa suffered a concussion in the fall, then another this spring, and is now wearing a protective helmet. She is ODU's third-leading scorer and has missed three games. Mills, an attacker, also had a knee injury that knocked her out for the season in the early spring.
Once the season began, Haley O'Connor, Molly May and Lilly Siskind all suffered season-ending injuries.
Siskind was the biggest blow. She led ODU with 57 goals last season and had 13 in ODU's first six games. May had also scored seven goals in six games.
Siskind, will appeal for a medical redshirt and hopes to return for a sixth season in 2024.
Sophomore Sydney Taylor, ODU's leading scorer with 19 goals and eight assists, has missed two full games and parts of others with injuries. Gillian Smith, one of ODU's best defenders, has also missed significant time with injuries.
The list goes on, but you get the point.
"We keep telling the team, everybody's got to be ready to play," Walton said.
"Everyone is really checked in because they know their numbers are getting called. Practices have really been efficient. Our younger players really appreciate the game time they're seeing because with a roster that's talented and deeper, they might not have gotten strong looks.
"Over the long term, it will help. It's expected that we don't allow freshmen to play. But we've had a lot of young players have to step up and handle the ball more than we typically would have wanted them to.
"It's kind of been forced on them, but it's a good thing for our young players to get this much experience."
Walton said she's encouraged that with three games to go, her players are still talking about winning out and qualifying for the AAC Tournament.
"It's fun to hear the players are talking about that," she said.
"We've asked them really to dial into who our conference is and recognize that these are the games that matter. It's really a good sign that they've done that."
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: Rare Streak of Injuries Has Masked Improvement Made by ODU Women's Lacrosse
