MONROE, La. - Old Dominion women’s soccer improved to 3-5 and 1-0 in the Sun Belt after defeating ULM in the Sun Belt Conference Opener, 1-0 at Brown Stadium on Friday night.
“This was a good win to start our conference play, it wasn’t the game we expected it to be but I think our team showed we can handle a physical game on the road in a tough environment,” said ODU head coach Will Roberts. “We’re excited to be back home next, it’s been a lot of games on the road, and I think the team is ready to have our fans behind us and playing on our field. I’m proud of Reese [Kulha] for stepping up and getting a goal, no better time to score than in the conference opener. But there’s no easy games in the Sun Belt, three points on the board is all we wanted from this game. Our focus turns to ULL.”
ODU (3-5, 1-0 SBC) found the game-winning goal in the 33rd minute from Reese Kulha who was assisted by Alaina Subong. ODU’s Grace Hillis won the ball at midfield and bombed it forward to Subong who crossed it first time to Reese Kulha at the far post. A deft touch by the first year forward was all the ball needed to find the back of the net and give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
There were five shots in the first 45 minutes, and the Monarchs held the lion’s share of the chances. ULM’s first and only shot of the half came at the 19th minute mark but was blocked by ODU defenders out of harm’s way. ODU’s Hannah Morgan had the first chance at goal on the night in the sixth minute but ULM’s Jen Handy was strong enough to make the stop.
Sydney Somers and Dylan McEntarfer had the next two opportunities for ODU, but both shots were off the mark in the eighth and 17th minute, respectively. Old Dominion finished the first 45 with a 4-1 advantage in shots and 1-1 tie on corner kick attempts. The Warhawks were shown three yellow cards at the 20th, 37th, and 44th minute mark for Ines Lope Casanova, Jade Bowe, and Angela Moreno, respectively.
The Warhawks did not register a single shot attempt in a second half where the Monarchs defense suffocated the ULM attack. The Silver and Blue had three more chances to extend the lead. Ashlynn Kulha fired a header off target in the 68th minute from a free kick delivery. Ashley Economopoulos forced Handy into making her second save of the night in the 80th. Mia Serna had the final shot of the game in the 85th minute but her shot was wide and went out for a goal kick.
ULM had its first corner kick of the second half in the 82nd minute but wasn’t able to generate a scoring opportunity from the set piece. The Warhawks final chance to equalize was in the 87th but ODU’s defense was strong enough to marshal the ball away from any potential danger as ODU saw out a 1-0 win in enemy territory.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion hosts Louisiana at the ODU Soccer Complex on Thursday, September 24 at 6 p.m. and will look to continue its winning ways in Sun Belt Conference action.