NORFOLK, Va. – A swarming Old Dominion women’s soccer defensive attack limited the visiting ULM Warhawks to four shots and only one on goal on the night as the Monarchs took a 1-0 victory in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday night.
“I think this was a big win for us tonight as ULM is a team that I have a lot of respect for. They’re very well coached and getting really talented players and it was quite a tactical battle tonight. It was a great game to be a coach in because you had to figure a lot of things out quickly,” said ODU Head Coach Angie Hind.
After an even first half, ODU (6-3-1, 1-0-1) was the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce nearly 18 minutes into the second half. Katie Lutz served one into the box, aiming for Yuliia Khrystiuk whose crossing attempt found the foot of a ULM defender before it landed in the back of the net at 62:49 for the 1-0 advantage.
The Monarchs came out to start the second half forcing tempo and controlled the first 10+ minutes. ULM (7-4-0, 1-1-0), who had come into the game leading the Sun Belt Conference in goals scored with 25, didn’t manage their first shot of the contest until 13 minutes into the second half.
“I thought we were good in the first half, they were good, it was quite even. Second half we changed a little bit and thought we had a good burst of energy and pushed hard and got the goal I thought we deserved. To continue the game and keep the clean sheet is something that we are really proud of as we were put under a lot of pressure at the end,” Hind said.
ODU ended the game outshooting ULM 10-4 and held a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal. Each team had a pair of corner kicks with ODU having two in the first half and ULM having theirs in the second.
The Monarchs now go on the road for their next two games starting Sunday night in Harrisonburg against James Madison at 6 p.m.