CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - Old Dominion field hockey downed the Villanova Wildcats 4-1 on Friday afternoon at the Villanova University Field Hockey Field.
The Monarchs (5-7, 3-1 BIG EAST) were first on the board with a goal by Avery Jackson who found herself with an open shot thanks to an assist by Sian Emslie in the fourth minute of the first quarter. The goal came after a series of penalty corner attempts from Madison Zalewski and Cosima Perleth which were denied by the Wildcat defense and goalkeeper Sophie Volkel. A Villanova (4-8, 2-2 BIG EAST) penalty corner sent in by Molly Zimmerman connected with Ava Borkowski for a goal, evening the score 1-1 in the last minute of the first quarter.
After a series of fouls on both sides of the pitch, with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter Emslie scored a goal off an assist from Jackson as the Monarchs retook control, 2-1. Two more fouls for each team closed out the half in favor of the Monarchs.
After the break, a series of substitutions from the Monarch bench saw action in the match up to maintain the ODU lead.
Seconds into the fourth quarter and celebrating her birthday today, Nicolette Saccomandi was able to increase the Monarchs’ lead to 3-1 with a goal off an assist from Amelie Zielcke. Just a minute later, Emslie was able to slide one past Volkel, bringing the score to 4-1 off an assist by Zalewski. A Wildcat penalty corner by Zimmerman sent to Addie Froehlich was blocked by the Monarch defense. Another corner by Zimmerman sent to Borkowski went wide, later followed by an ODU penalty corner from Zalewski sent to Sanci Molkenboer which went high. Wildcat Maeve Boston attempted a shot, which was then denied by goalkeeper Suus Broers. A foul on Villanova allowed for ODU’s Zalewski to get a penalty shot which Volkel saved. Three back-to-back penalty corners all sent by Zimmerman were blocked by the ODU defense and the final was saved by Broers to close out the BIG EAST Conference match.
“It’s a good win on the road, and great to score some goals! We had a tough week of training and I’m proud of the effort, energy level and teamwork that the players demonstrated today," ODU Head Coach Andrew Griffiths said. "We got goals from three players and assists from four, so that’s a good sign as well. The other positive sign is that we did a number of things well, but we still have areas to improve. So we are positioned well for the stretch run of the season”.
The Monarchs recorded 10 shots, six on goal, and six corners as a team. The Wildcats recorded 16 shots, five on goal, and 11 corners collectively. ODU keeper Broers recorded four saves, while Villanova’s Volkel recorded two for the match.
UP NEXT:
The Monarchs return to Norfolk to host BIG EAST Conference foe Temple on Friday, October 17 at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. The game is scheduled to start at noon.