LYNCHBURG, Va. – A goal by Halle Engle in the seventh minute and one by Avery Paulson in the 74th minute provided the final margin as Liberty defeated Old Dominion 2-0 at a steamy Osborne Stadium in a non-conference matchup on Sunday.
“A tough game for us today. Liberty is physical, direct and that caused us a lot of problems. We had moments in the game but needed to show a little more composure and quality on the ball. That’ll be something for us to work on for Thursday night with William & Mary,” said Associate Head Coach Michelle Barr.
The hosts got on the board early as Ivy Garner sent a pass ahead to Paulson who put it past an outstretched Emily Bredek in goal for a 1-0 Liberty advantage at 6:52 of the opening half.
ODU (1-1) forced the Flames to be on the defensive for the better part of the first half. They had a pair of corner kick opportunities in the first half stopped. In the final two minutes, Laura Klebek and Ashlynn Kulha had a pair of shots on goal that were stopped as ODU trailed 1-0 heading into intermission.
In the second half, ODU forced a pair of corner kick chances in the first three minutes but couldn’t solve the riddle of the Flames defense. Paulson was on the receiving end of a feed from Ava Goodman at 73:12 and pushed one into the net for the eventual final of 2-0 Liberty.
On the game, Liberty held a 9-8 advantage in shots though the Monarchs held a 6-2 lead in shots on goal. Liberty ended with a slight 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
ODU will end a brief road swing on Thursday night as they travel up Interstate 64 to Williamsburg for a Thursday night matchup against William & Mary at 7 p.m. inside Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.