NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion lacrosse notched its third straight win at home with a 12-11 overtime victory against Furman on Friday night. Jules Mills completed a five-goal night with the overtime game-winner.
To begin the overtime period, a shot by Natalie Calandra-Ryan hit the Paladin goal post and bounced into the hands of Anna Kelly. A turnover by Kelly moments later gave the Monarchs another opportunity, and Mills capitalized, scoring her fifth goal of the night to secure the sudden-death 12-11 victory and a career-high five goals.
ODU’s Kylie O’Donnell scored her second goal of the season with under a minute left to tie it at 10-10, and Mills added her fourth goal with 12 seconds left in regulation to give the Monarchs an 11-10 lead. The Paladins quickly pushed the ball into Monarch territory and slipped a shot past Bowen with 0.4 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime tied at 11.
“Total team effort tonight to get the win,” said head coach Theresa Walton. “A lot of players stepped up at the right time when we absolutely needed it.”
Furman (2-4) was quick to build a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with Emily Muir, Shae Insinga and Lily Toole finding their way past ODU (4-2) goalkeeper Brynn Bowen.
Just over a minute into the second quarter, the Monarchs’ Mills netted her first goal of the night off an assist from Maria Snyder. Back-to-back fouls allowed Furman’s Toole to step to the arc for free-position shots, converting on both to give the Paladins a 5-1 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half. Mills responded with a goal at the 10-minute mark, then added another two minutes later on a free-position shot to cut the deficit to 5-3. Natalie Calandra-Ryan scored her first goal of the night with 7:49 remaining off a pass from Snyder to bring the Monarchs within one at 5-4. Furman’s Insinga responded with her second goal of the evening to close out the first half.
After the break, Insinga completed the hat trick with her third goal of the night off a pass from Reynolds Hester with 12:54 remaining, extending the lead to 8-5. Less than a minute later, ODU’s Katie Pfeiler connected with Sofia Snyder, who slipped a shot past Furman goalkeeper Madigan Brewer with just under 12 minutes remaining. Sylvia Mayo then notched her first goal of the season on a free-position shot with 6:39 to go, pulling the Monarchs within one at 8-7. Off a free-position opportunity of her own, Hester capitalized on a keeperless net to score and end the third quarter.
Annalynn Pompetti began the fourth quarter with a goal at the 12-minute mark to make it 9-8 and Calandra-Ryan then found the net for her second goal with eight minutes remaining to tie the game 9-9 for the first time. Toole responded less than a minute later on a free-position shot to put Furman back in front, 10-9, with just over seven minutes remaining. ODU’s Kylie O’Donnell scored her second goal of the season with under a minute left to tie it at 10-10, and Mills added her fourth goal with 12 seconds left in regulation to give the Monarchs an 11-10 lead. The Paladins quickly pushed the ball into Monarch territory and slipped a shot past Bowen with 0.4 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime tied at 11.
“So proud of this squad and how they’re continuing to grow together and believe in each other. It was a combination of mentality and competitiveness to be able to battle back together like they did. Quick turnaround to Sunday, so our full focus is forward,” said Walton.
Old Dominion heads to Rock Hill, South Carolina, to play Winthrop on Sunday March 8 at 12:00 p.m. at Eagle Field.