NORFOLK, Va. – A pair of big-time blasts from Gry Boe Thrysoe and Riley Mullen and a swarming defense helped lead the Old Dominion women’s soccer team to a 2-0 win over UNC Wilmington on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the ODU Soccer Complex.
"Really pleased with the performance first and foremost today. I thought we had a lot of the ball and showed some good composure. UNCW is a difficult team to play against as they have a real threat in attack, but I felt our back line were solid throughout,” said ODU Head Coach Angie Hind.
The opening stages of the half saw the Monarchs put a pair of shots in the first five minutes but couldn’t get one in the net. ODU (3-1-0) kept the pressure on, but nothing to show through the first 35 minutes.
With 6:40 left in the first half, Thrysoe took a free kick from 25 yards out and unleased a blast that found the top left corner of the net for her first goal of the season and a 1-0 ODU lead.
The second half saw the Monarchs keep the pressure on the Seahawks as Mullen forced a turnover just at the 18-yard box and ripped a screamer into the back of the net as ODU took a 2-0 lead with just under 21 minutes remaining.
“The two goals we scored today were fantastic individual efforts especially Gry's which was a tremendous strike which wrapped up a great performance from her,” Hind said.
UNCW (2-1-1) made a few threats late, but they could not solve the pressure defense of the Monarchs and kept having chances erased.
ODU held an 18-3 shots advantage and a 9-0 margin in shots on goal. Emily Bredek and Erin Jones did not have to make a save in the combined clean sheet. The win for the Monarchs over UNCW was the first since 2005 when ODU won 3-2 at home.
“We now get the chance to recover and have a full week to get better in preparation for a big challenge on Sunday against a great LSU team,” said Hind.
The Monarchs are back in action on September 1 when they host LSU at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Stadium. Friday’s training session for the LSU match on Sunday is open to the public. Contact Assistant Coach Zach Hanson for details.