LYNCHBURG, Va. – Old Dominion field hockey fell to #17 Liberty on the road by a 2-0 score on Friday afternoon.
“In the big picture this was a game about effectiveness in the attacking third of the field,” Head Coach Andrew Griffiths said. “Liberty was more effective, turning their possessions into chances in the circle, and we got into the 25 but couldn’t create enough corners or scoring opportunities. We started fine, but were very flat in the second quarter. Our team responded very well after halftime and we played much of the second half in Liberty’s end of the field.”
Both teams were awarded a penalty corner in the first quarter, though a goal didn’t come until under two minutes remained, when Liberty’s (6-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) Luna Prieri found the net. Old Dominion (7-3, 0-2 BIG EAST) was unable to score with little time remaining, heading into the second quarter down 1-0.
Avery Pollock extended the Flame’s lead with a goal with under eight minutes to go in the half. While Liberty would be awarded two more penalty corners before the second quarter ended, neither team scored, keeping Liberty’s 2-0 lead by halftime.
The highlight of the third quarter was a Liberty corner, though three yellow cards were administered in the fourth quarter. While ODU would collect a penalty corner with 33 seconds left to play, the Monarchs were unable to get on the board, giving Liberty the 2-0 shutout.
The Flames outshot the Monarchs 14-5, with 10-1 on shots on goal. ODU also had two corners to Liberty’s six.
Serena Langendoen had a team-high two shots, with a lone shot on goal for the Monarchs.
Goalkeeper Alexa Murphy collected eight saves on two goals allowed.
“We moved the ball well up the field,” Griffiths added. “But we couldn’t connect and create clean chances in the circle. On the defensive end, Alexa was strong in goal for us again. I can’t fault our players’ effort, but we need to find a way to score. That’s what we will be working on next week in training.”
UP NEXT
Old Dominion returns home to host BIG EAST conference foe Villanova on Friday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.