MATCH #10
WHO: ODU (5-3-1, 0-0-1) vs. ULM (7-3-0, 1-0-0)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 26 – 7 p.m.
WHERE: Norfolk, Va.
SERIES RECORD: Series tied 0-0-1
LAST MEETING: ODU 1, ULM 1 – at ULM
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: here
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women’s soccer team will celebrate Pack The Park night on Thursday with a Sun Belt Conference cross-divisional matchup as they’ll host the ULM Warhawks at 7 p.m.
The game will have live stats and be streamed on ESPN+.
In last year’s meeting at ULM, Megan Watts scored a rebound goal with 74 seconds left as the Monarchs and Warhawks finished the regular season with a 1-1 draw. That was the first-ever meeting between ODU and ULM.
ODU is back in action after a hard fought 1-1 draw against Coastal Carolina on Friday night at home. The Monarchs gave up a goal with just over 14 minutes left but kept pressing and found a spot with just over three minutes to play. Yuliia Khrystiuk had the ball on the left wing and found Brooke Edwards just inside the six-yard box where she tapped one past the goalie to even the match.
ULM snapped a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over Troy in its Sun Belt opener on Friday night. Mara Grutkamp scored in the 27th minute and the Warhawks amassed their sixth clean sheet win out of the season.
ABOUT ODU
Ashlynn Kulha has played all 90 minutes in each of the nine games thus far in 2024. Heading back to last season, she has played in 1,030 straight minutes with the final two games of 2023 going into double overtime.
Through nine matches, Rhea Kijowski leads the Monarchs with three goals and one assist for seven points. Brooke Edwards has two goals and one assist for five points, while Katie Lutz has two goals for four points, and Yuliia Khrystiuk has one goal with two assists for four points. Riley Mullen and Andrea Balcazar Algarin have one goal and one assist each, with Gry Boe Thrysoe adding one goal and Laura Klebek adding one assist.
In goal, Emily Bredek and Erin Jones have split time in the net. Bredek has recorded 16 saves in five games with a save percentage of .842 and a goals against average of 0.74 in 365 minutes. Jones has made 14 saves in six games with a .737 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.01 in 445 minutes.
The latest women’s soccer RPI rankings were released on Monday and ODU dropped one spot to 75th in the rankings. Last season, the Sun Belt Conference ended with seven teams ranked in the top 75 of the RPI.
In the Sun Belt statistics, ODU is ranked third in shutouts, fourth in shots and fourth in corner kicks. ULM is first in shutouts, third in shots and 10th in corner kicks. Kijowski is ranked second in the league in shots and third in shots per game, while Khrystiuk is eighth in shots and ninth in shots per game.
Following the win at W&M, Bredek was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week. She had nine saves in the two ODU wins against W&M and UNCW. The nine saves against W&M were a career high for her and the clean sheet was her first of the season and 15th of her career.
Bredek and Kulha were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team, while the Monarchs were picked to finish first by the league coaches. Click here for that release.
ABOUT ULM
Grutkamp leads the Warhawks in points (10), shots (25), shots on goal (20) and shares the team lead in goals (4) with Kai Douglas. Skylar Blaise has three goals and a team-best three assists for nine points.
In the net, Jennifer Handy has logged the most minutes with over 620 in eight starts. She’s made 19 saves for a .760 save percentage and sports a 0.87 goals against average. Handy has had four clean sheets and has had a hand in one combined shutout.
NEXT UP
The Monarchs will be back in action on Sunday, September 29 when they visit James Madison at 6 p.m. in a rematch of the last two Sun Belt Conference tournament title games.