NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion lacrosse defeated Winthrop in a thrilling 14-12 game dedicated to Morgan’s Message on Wednesday afternoon.
“We talked to the team about how there is still that rebound factor after a great win against Charlotte on Saturday, emotionally everything running high so how to stay composed in a game like this and come back at home, be able to repeat and keep that same level of energy up," said ODU Head Coach Theresa Walton. "It's hard to simulate so we just got a taste of how it feels to still step out on the field and continue to fight after a really strong win this weekend and be able to execute and finish on a Wednesday, just proud of the full team to be able to finish this one today."
Old Dominion (8-3) kicked off the afternoon with a goal from Corynn Jones just over a minute in. Teammate Ella Bowen followed suit, netting one in past the 13-minute mark, though Christina Warren put Winthrop (2-4) on the board three minutes later. Sarah Murrell found the back of the net on a free position shot shortly after, and Bowen grabbed her second goal of the game just 30 seconds later. Warren scored her second goal of the game almost two minutes later. Callie Culhane scored with under four minutes left in the quarter and Warren recorded a hat trick with teammate Ashlee Gensits netting one in afterwards to put the Monarchs up just 5-4.
Bowen recorded her second straight hat trick three minutes into the second quarter, with ODU's Eleni Yates following suit and scoring under a minute later. Bowen continued to add to her tally at the six-minute mark, and Lydia Laney found the back of the net with under two minutes left in the first half. Warren scored once more to make the score 9-5 in ODU’s favor heading into halftime.
Under three minutes into the second half, Murrell netted in her second goal of the game to put the Monarchs into double digits. While Winthrop’s Scarlet Cifarelli would score on a free position shot, Old Dominion’s Julia Butler, Annalynn Pompetti, and Gracyn Roth would respond with one goal each. In one final effort for the third quarter, the Eagle's Madison Mayer found the back of the net, putting the Monarchs up a strong 13-7.
"Awesome to see Gracyn (Roth) get a goal, I’ve seen her in preseason taking shots, strong lefty who snipes corners, we had no doubt she was going to bury that shot," added Walton.
Winthrop set the pace in the fourth quarter, as Warren scored just a minute in. Jones would grab her second goal of the game a minute later but that would be the only goal from the Monarchs for the remainder of the game. Winthrop’s Gabby Pierpont netted one in with under 10 minutes left of play, followed by Warren grabbing her sixth goal of the game. Pierpoint recorded another goal five minutes later, and teammate Jane Tattersall scored under 20 second later, but it wasn’t enough to make up the deficit, giving ODU a 14-12 win.
Bowen led the Monarchs in scoring with four goals, while Murrell and Jones followed behind with two each. Both Culhane and Jones also had two assists each, with McKenzie Raech accounting for three draw controls. Goalie Brynn Bowen came away with 11 saves to bring her season total up to 79.
“One of our biggest strengths was from our defensive unit and how strong they cleared the ball for us, our full unit, including Hannah in the cage. It was just awesome to see how well they handled the ball and really created opportunities on the offensive side." said Walton.
Old Dominion hits the road this weekend to take on in-state rival James Madison as part of the Royal Rivalry on Saturday, March 22 at 1 p.m.