Greenville, N.C. – Old Dominion Lacrosse fell 8-7 to East Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Greenville.
“That’s the best we’ve played all season,” said ODU head coach Theresa Walton. “Outside of ECU’s 4-0 run to start, and 4th quarter 3-0 run, we were in the game the entire time. We were able to go on our own run which is exactly what you need the ability to do in this game, so it was great to see us enter the 4th quarter all tied up”.
The Pirates (6–7, 2–2 American) opened the American Conference matchup with a four-goal run, including two from Rachell Chessock. Sarah Goodinson and Sophia Apple each added a goal to close out the first quarter with ECU leading, 4–0.
ECU extended its lead early in the second quarter, as Kayla Wilkes scored within the first 20 seconds to make it 5–0. Old Dominion (5–10, 0–5 American) got on the board when Lydia Laney scored just over the nine-minute mark, cutting the deficit to 5–1. The Monarch defense held the Pirates scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.
After the break, the Monarchs struck first with a goal from Julia Butler to make it 5–2 with just over 14 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Natalie Calandra-Ryan followed with another goal, connecting with Laney to cut the score to 5–3 with just over eight minutes left. Katie Pfeiler then found the back of the net off an assist from Calandra-Ryan, bringing the Monarchs within one at 5–4 with 6:30 remaining. To close the third quarter, Maria Snyder connected with Laney to complete the five-goal run and tie the game at 5–5 heading into the fourth.
In the final quarter, ECU’s Katelyn Sclafani scored the Pirates’ first goal since the second quarter, regaining the lead at 6–5 with just over seven minutes remaining. Grace Moore followed with another goal to extend the lead to 7–5 with 6:47 left. Two minutes later, Jamie Collender scored to make it 8–5.
Old Dominion responded late, as Jules Mills scored to cut the deficit to 8–6 with just under three minutes remaining. With less than a minute left, Laney found the back of the net for her second goal of the day to end the game 8-7.
“Everyone played hard, everyone was locked into their role and the task at hand. We had our effort and execution today for the major majority of the game,” added Walton. “That’s an American Conference tournament team from last year. Awesome to be able to play at the end of this season knowing we can play to our conference standard”.
The Pirates outshot the Monarchs, 26–20, while Old Dominion held the edge in draw controls, 11–7. In goal, ODU’s Brynn Bowen recorded nine saves, while ECU’s Jaime Behar added seven.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs travel to New Jersey to take on Monmouth on April 18 at Kessler Stadium. The opening draw is scheduled for noon.