NORFOLK, Va. – Ashlynn Kulha's goal in the 10th minute off a corner kick feed by Andrea Balcazar Algarin proved to be the lone tally on Sunday night as Old Dominion defeated Richmond 1-0 in front of a crowd of 829 at the ODU Soccer Stadium.
The win enabled ODU (4-0-0) to push its record for most clean sheets to start a season to four and gave the Monarchs a sweep of its "City of Richmond Week" after a 2-0 win at VCU on Thursday night.
"Delighted to get the win tonight against a very tough and resilient Richmond team," said ODU Head Coach Angie Hind. "I thought we started really well and what a goal by Ashlynn to take the lead - it was incredible. Then I think the game became a little scrappy and we needed half time to reset a little."
ODU started off forcing the action and kept Richmond pinned in its defensive end early on. A corner kick opportunity developed at 9:32 as Balcazar Algarin sent in the kick that Kulha stopped and blasted it into the back of the net for the early 1-0 advantage.
Richmond wouldn't go down without some action as they gained some control in the late stages of the opening half, but ODU kept them off the board.
In the second half, the Monarchs regained control of the action and had a couple chances of breaking the game open but Richmond stopped several opportunities. ODU held a 6-1 advantage in shots during the second half to finished with an 11-5 margin.
"Second half we played with a bit more composure but just couldn't find a second goal which kept the game tight," Hind added. "A hard fought win but delighted to get that in front of an amazing home crowd tonight - a big thanks to Monarch Nation for their support! "
The goalkeeper tandem of Erin Jones and Emily Bredek combined for one save on the night to record the fourth clean sheet for the Monarchs.
ODU closes the first month of the season in Blacksburg, Virginia on Thursday as they'll face Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.
Women's Soccer Strikes Early And Holds Off Richmond 1-0
