NORFOLK, Va. - ODU women’s soccer came out on top in an eight-goal thriller against Troy, 5-3 in Sun Belt Conference action on Thursday night at the ODU Soccer Complex.
“On a positive note, we scored five really good goals and again looked good going forward and created really good chances,” said ODU head coach Angie Hind. “But credit to Troy, they really made it hard for us and I felt for the first time we didn’t look great defensively tonight. We were slack and the goals we lost were so unlike us.”
The Monarchs (7-1-3) were up 3-2 heading into the final 30 minutes of the game after going up 3-0 in the first half. Yuliia Khrystiuk crossed the ball into the middle of the box and found Hannah Morgan who settled the ball with her right foot while backing down a Troy (5-5-1) defender. Morgan laid a pass with her left to Ashley Economopoulos who struck it first time into the right corner of the net and past Troy’s Taylor Richards in the 69th minute. Gry Boe Thrysoe applied the finishing touches in the 82nd minute. After starting the attack on the edge of the box, Morgan played a first time pass back to the cutting Thrysoe, who fired a shot into the bottom left corner to make it 5-2.
Khrystiuk got the ball rolling 15 minutes into the first half when Riley Mullen darted down the right wing and found the forward from Ukraine. The graduate student settled the pass on her right foot and curled it into the right corner of the net to give ODU a 1-0 lead. Mullen helped create ODU’s second goal as well when she found Economopoulos with a through ball that cut through the Trojan’s back line. The freshman forward from Pennsylvania saw two defenders drag to her, so she slipped the ball into the path of a wide-open Katie Lutz right in front of goal who made it 2-0. With a little over one minute remaining in the opening stanza, Thrysoe was able to expand the Monarch lead after getting on the end of a link up play between Economopoulos and Kappmeier in the Trojans’ final third. Economopoulos settled a deflected cross on the left side of the box and made an incisive pass to Kappmeier, who found Thrysoe just inside the top of the box. The Danish midfielder passed the ball into the bottom left corner as ODU went into the break leading 3-0.
Things got interesting early in the second half. In the 50th minute, Troy’s Megan Hamm scored the Trojan’s opener after getting a friendly deflection which caught ODU goalkeeper Erin Jones off guard. Troy was able to notch another goal 14 minutes later after Haley Philips found herself on the end of a Hamm cross that was initially stopped by ODU defender Sydney Somers. The ball stayed right in front of goal, a slip by Jones and quick reactions by Philips led to the Trojans’ second goal. ODU found the net twice in the remaining minutes, but Hayden Barnett scored Troy’s third and final goal in the 89th minute as the Monarchs saw out the victory, 5-3.
“That’s something we will look to address quickly as our defensive strength is something that’s typically part of our identity,” added Hind.
Thrysoe took home ODU Player of the Match plaudits after scoring two goals for a brace, Economopoulos continued a productive freshman campaign with one goal and one assist. Mullen notched two assists, Khrystiuk finished with one goal and one assist, and Lutz scored one goal. The Monarchs have scored 12 goals over the past two games which is the highest total over a two-game span in program history. The previous highest mark was set in 2006 after ODU scored eight against Fairleigh Dickinson and three against Radford the following game for 11.
“It is another win and keeps us undefeated in conference and at home,” added Hind. “Some of the goals we scored were such great team goals tonight and that’s so pleasing as the team continues to grow in that.”
Erin Jones played all 90 minutes in net and took home the win, she made one save. Troy’s Richards allowed five goals but made six saves in the losing effort.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion heads to Huntington, W.Va. to face the Marshall Thundering Herd on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Hoops Family Field.