NORFOLK, Va. - Madison Telmer scored from outside the box in the 88th minute to give Old Dominion women’s soccer a late lead, 2-1 as the Monarchs secured all three points against Georgia Southern after a 2-1 victory at the ODU Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.
“Today was a game where we didn’t play our best but found a way to win,” said ODU Head Coach Will Roberts. “Sometimes for the mentality of the group that’s better than a perfect performance, we had to earn every bit of that win and the girls stayed with it until the end and found a way. All credit goes to the entire group, they stuck with it till the end. I’m really happy for Hannah [Morgan] and [Madison] Telmer, two top goals in high pressure moments.”
Old Dominion (6-6-2, 4-1-2 SBC) trailed, 1-0 entering the second half but two goals in the span of 12 minutes helped the Monarchs decide the game late. Libby Holmes sent the ball in from the halfway line and caused some chaos outside the box, the ball fell to Reese Kulha and Dylan McEntarfer who both went for the ball at the same time. Neither made clean contact and the ball fell to Telmer who latched herself onto the ball and struck the ball past GS’ (7-4-3, 2-3-1 SBC) Quinn Wilson for the game-winning goal, 2-1.
ODU got a late lifeline in the game in the 78th minute after trailing for the majority of the second half. GS’ Maya Zmistowski clattered into Koto Davis as she was collecting a loose ball in the box. Play initially continued for about a minute before the head referee, J.T. Alukonis blew his whistle to initiate a video review.
Alukonis judged Zmistowski to be making an illegal challenge and awarded the Monarchs a penalty kick. ODU’s leading goalscorer, Hannah Morgan, stepped up and hammered her shot into the top left corner of the net and gave Wilson no chance at making a save.
Old Dominion fell behind with just over a minute and a half remaining in the first half. Addison Comer capitalized on an Eagles’ counter attack and scored from outside the box. The Monarchs had five shots in the opening 45 compared to three shots for the Eagles.
The wind in Norfolk was noticeable this afternoon and affected the game, the gusts would bat down balls that were played long. All three goals in the game were scored against the wind rather than benefitting from playing with it.
ODU outshot the Eagles, 11-6 and had a 4-2 shot on goal advantage. Georgia Southern finished the afternoon with a 5-3 advantage on corner kick attempts. McEntarfer, Holmes, Ashlynn Kulha, and Ally Richardson all played 90 minutes in the outfield. Riley Mullen led the Monarchs with three shots but was tied with Mia Serna, Morgan, and Telmer with one shot on goal.
Ellie Goodrich played 90 minutes in between the posts and made one save in the winning effort. Her record in goal improves to 5-5-2. GS’ Wilson made two saves in 90 minutes and her record in goal fell to 6-4-3.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion heads to Ruston to face Louisiana Tech on Thursday, October 22 at 8 p.m. before returning to the ODU Soccer Complex for Senior Day on Sunday, October 25 against Coastal Carolina.