BOONE, N.C. – Grace Hillis scored the first goal of her career as Old Dominion University Women’s Soccer defeated App State 3-1 in the regular season finale in Boone on Thursday night.
The win improves ODU to 10-5-3 overall and 5-2-3 in Sun Belt Conference play.
“Good teams show character to bounce back from disappointments and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” ODU Head Coach Angie Hind said. “We were back to playing our way and I thought we were excellent throughout against a really good App State side.”
The Monarchs got on the board in the 34th minute as Gry Boe Thrysoe knocked in a penalty kick to give ODU a 1-0 lead.
ODU outshot the Mountaineers 6-2 in the first half while App held the edge in corner kicks 3-1.
ODU made the score 2-0 on a goal by Rhea Kijowski in the 46th minute. Kijowski took advantage of a misplay by an App defender and fired a left-footed strike into the upper right corner for a 2-0 ODU lead.
The Mountaineers cut the lead in half with a goal from Kyle Switalski in the 52nd minute.
Grace Hillis gave the Monarchs back their two-goal lead with the first goal of her career in the 81st minute. Thrysoe sent in a ball from the right side that got kicked around by an App defender but right to Hillis on the doorstep who knocked it in for the ODU 3-1 lead.
“We defended tough and showed great composure at times to move the ball and create chances but even more so to put three goals away. It’s nice to finish the regular season on a good performance and build confidence heading into the tournament next week.”
ODU outshot App State 14-8, while the Mountaineers held a 5-4 lead in corner kicks. Emily Bredek earned the win in goal making one save.
The Monarchs begin Sun Belt Tournament play on Monday in Foley, Alabama. An opponent and time will be announced by the Sun Belt.