YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Old Dominion lacrosse team opened their 2026 campaign with a 14-12 win against Youngstown State on Sunday. Natalie Calandra-Ryan contributed four goals to the first-ever meeting with the Penguins.
“Any game day with a win is a good day. Very happy with our leadership today both in game and from the sidelines,” head coach Theresa Walton said. “We had to handle some hard moments, and it was great to see our response out of those situations,” head coach Theresa Walton said.
The Monarchs opened the game with the first goal of the season just under five minutes into the game by Calandra-Ryan who shot it in from a pass by Molly Heimerl. Two minutes later Calandra-Ryan found the back of the net for her second goal with a pass from Lydia Laney.
The Penguins would score their first goal from Claire Baenzinger off a free position shot with just under six minutes left in the first quarter. This was followed by another Penguins goal with two minutes left from Ava Kreutzer. ODU’s Jules Mills would end the quarter getting past Penguin goalkeeper Brooke Harper off a pass from Heimerl with 20 seconds left, giving the Monarchs a 4-2 lead.
Anna Pompetti opened the second quarter with a goal just over the 11-minute mark off a pass from Laney. Kreutzer would profit off a free position shot for a YSU goal with nine minutes to go. Freshman Maria Snyder scored her first collegiate goal with an assist from Laney at the seven-minute mark. The Monarchs would gain the next draw control and profit 30 seconds later with another goal by Calandra-Ryan for her third goal of the game, also from Laney. Eleni Yates secured a free position shot to score another for the Monarchs with two minutes left. YSU’s Maya Griffin would get one more point in for the Penguins with 40 seconds left in the quarter to send the game into halftime in favor of the Monarchs, 8-4.
After the break, Calandra-Ryan would score her fourth goal of the game with 13 minutes on the clock, 30 seconds later Pompetti would also find the back of the net for her second goal of the game. The Penguins would then go on a five-goal run for six minutes, scored by Baenziger, Mia Yuris, Kreutzer, Griffin, and Molly Brooks to end the third.
In the final quarter of the game, Yates would connect with Laney to score her second goal for the Monarchs with 14 minutes on the clock. Just over a minute later, Megan Hofensberger connected with Snyder for her first goal of the game to increase the score to 12-9. The Monarchs' Julia Butler would be granted a free position shot and score her first for the game with 11 minutes to go. The Penguins' Sami Drew would score off a pass from Gwen Bogash at the 10-minute mark, followed by an ODU goal from Snyder from Heimerl for the final Monarch goal. YSU’s Baenziger would close out the quarter with two more goals to end the game 14-12 in the Monarchs' favor.
“There’s a lot from this game we are happy with, but we have a lot of work to do in getting to the level we know we are capable of. Excited for this senior class and this team to start the season 1-0,” Walton said.
The Monarchs head to Elon, N.C.to face the Phoenix on February 14 at 10:00 a.m. at Rudd Field.