Oct. 6, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. -- The eighth-ranked Old Dominion field hockey team returns to action this weekend in two CAA contests. The Lady Monarchs host Virginia Commonwealth on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and take on defending 2004 CAA Champions Delaware on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Both games are at Foreman Field and admission to the games is free.
About Old Dominion:
Current Record: 8-4 overall, 4-0 CAA
Current Ranking: #8 NFHCA/#6 Women's Field Hockey.com
Results:
#7 Penn State: W, 3-1
#5 American: L, 2-3
Virginia: W, 4-0
#2 Maryland: L, 1-2 (OT)
At #8 Michigan: L, 3-4
Vs. Miami (Ohio): W, 7-0
At #3 North Carolina: L, 0-1
At #4 Duke: W, 5-3
At Richmond: W, 5-2
Drexel: W, 7-0
#17 James Madison:W, 3-2
at Towson: W, 8-2
* Old Dominion upped its win streak to five games as they defeated #17 James Madison 3-2 and Towson 8-2. The victories also improved the Lady Monarchs record in the CAA to 3-0. Entering this weekend Old Dominion, Northeastern (3-0), and William & Mary (2-0) still have undefeated league records.
* Last Friday's 3-2 victory over James Madison marked the third win over ranked opponent in the 2005 season. The other ranked victories including #7 Penn State and #4 Duke.
* Against the Dukes, Old Dominion held a 3-0 lead before James Madison scored two late in the second half. Junior Dana Sensenig scored the game-winner, her team-leading third of the season.
* Last Sunday, Old Dominion had to overcome a 2-0 Towson lead three minutes into the game, but the Lady Monarch defense would not allow another Tiger shot on goal after Towson's second goal. The eight goals scored by the Lady Monarchs marked their highest output of the season as five different Lady Monarchs collected goals in the game including multiple scoring efforts by senior Darcy Pinchbeck, junior Dana Sensenig, and freshman Denise Admiraal.
* The team picked up a pair of CAA weekly awards as junior midfielder Dana Sensenig was named Co-Player of the Week and freshman midfielder Denise Admiraal was named the Rookie of the Week. Sensenig collected seven points from three goals and an assist in ODU's 2-0 week. Admiraal won her first CAA weekly award after recording three goals in in both ODU's victories last week. Against Towson, she captured the game-winner just moments before the half, giving the Lady Monarchs a 3-2 lead.
* With her two goals last week, junior midfieler Dana Sensenig moved a top the Old Dominion scoring charts for the season having registered 10 goals, six assists, and 26 points. Nationally she ranks eighth in points, 13th in points per game, eight in goals and 15th in goals per game.
* Also continuing in the national stats assist category is junior Caroline Nichols. Nichols remains in third in total assists with nine and averaging 0.75 per game to rank eighth in the country.
About The Rams:
Current Record: 3-7 overall, 0-3 CAA
Current Rank: N/A
Results:
Virginia: L, 0-3
at Rutgers L, 2-3
Richmond: L, 0-1
Longwood: W, 1-0
Temple: L, 0-2
Yale: W, 4-2
Radford: W, 1-0
at William & Mary: L, 0-2
Delaware: L, 1-2 (OT)
at James Madison L, 0-4
Old Dominion vs. Virginia Commonwealth All-Time: 34-4
* The Rams are still looking to pick up their first CAA win of the year after beginning the season 0-3 in the league. Virginia Commonwealth has been shutout by William & Mary, 1-0, and James Madison, 4-0, but managed to take Delaware to overtime falling 2-1.
* Virginia Commonwealth is 3-7 on the season having earned victories against Longwood (1-0), Yale (4-2), and Radford (1-0). The Rams share a common non-conference opponent in Virginia. The Rams fell 3-0 to the Cavaliers while the Lady Monarchs earned a 4-0 shutout.
* Freshman forward Nikki Lloyd, who was named CAA Rookie of the Week earlier this month, leads the Rams with nine points. Lloyd has four goals this season to go along with one assist. Fellow classmate Heather McCannon is second on the team with five points, two goals and one assist.
* Goalkeeper Laura Baker ranks fourth in the CAA in goals against averagewith a mark of 1.48. Baker also ranks fifth in save percentage at .737.
* Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shelly Behrens is a familiar face to Lady Monarch fans. A 1988 graduate of Old Dominion University, Behrens was a four-year starter at goalkeeper for the Monarchs and received first team All-South Region honors during her junior and senior seasons. She was a member of four ODU teams that reached NCAA tournament play, including the Monarchs' 1984 national championship squad and the 1985 group that reached the finals of the NCAA Championships,
* Virginia Commonwealth's last win over Old Dominion was a pretty memorable one for the Rams. With a 5-4 victory at Cary Street Field back on October 26, 2003, Virginia Commonwealth ended the Lady Monarchs' 58 game CAA win streak which had begun in 1996.
About The Fightin' Blue Hens:
Current Record: 6-6 overall, 1-2 CAA
Current Rank: N/A
Results:
Vs. Pacific: W, 3-2 (ot)
At California: W, 2-1 (ot)
At Stanford: W, 5-1
Duke: L, 2-7
Richmond: L, 2-3
Rutgers: W, 4-1
At St. Joseph's: L, 1-2
At Lafayette: W, 5-1
At Temple: L, 0-1
At Hofstra: L, 1-2 (3ot)
At Va. Commonwealth: W, 2-1 (ot)
Northeastern: L, 1-5
Old Dominion vs. Delaware All-Time: 4-1-1
* The Fightin' Blue Hens are the defending CAA champions having defeated the Lady Monarchs in overtime of last year's CAA Tournament semifinal. The victory was the first for Delaware against the Lady Monarchs.
* Delaware has dropped three of their last four outings with the lone win of the span coming against the Lady Monarch's opponent from Friday night in Virginia Commonwealth in overtime. In fact, the Blue Hens have already played in four overtime games this season - Pacific, California, Hofstra, and VCU.
* Amanda Warrington leads Delaware with six goals, three assists, and 15 points followed closely by Casey Howard with six goals and an assist for 13 points. Warrington having played only eight of the Blue Hen's 12 games is tied for 10th in the CAA in points (15). Both Warrington and Howard are tied for 10th in goals (6).
* In net, the Blue Hens rely on Megan Allen, a local product from nearby Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach. Allen is posting a 2.29 goals against average and a .738 save percentage. Allen's 6.33 saves per game and total saves (76) top the conference.
* Blue Hen junior Katie Evans made her return from a four-game absence due to Under-21 Junior World Cup Team play in Santiago, Chile. She helped Team USA to a best-ever seventh place finish at the Women's Junior World Cup. During her stint with the team, she missed four games for the Blue Hens.
* Former University of Delaware All-American and current field hockey graduate assistant coach Leah Geib is one of 10 finalists for the 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year award, one of the most prestigious honors the NCAA bestows. The award recognizes senior student-athletes in intercollegiate athletics for their outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and community service. Each NCAA institution may nominate one graduating female student-athlete for the award and an NCAA committee selects the NCAA Woman of the Year for each of the 50 states.
In The Polls:
STX/NFHCA Poll (Week Four):
Institution (record) Points Previous Week's Ranking
1. Wake Forest University (10-0) 600 (30) 1
2. University of Maryland (13-1) 560 2
3. Duke University (9-2) 514 4 Tie
4. American University (10-0) 504 4 Tie
5. University of North Carolina (8-2) 492 3
6. Penn State University (12-1) 414 7
7. Indiana University (11-1) 400 8
8. Old Dominion University (8-4) 393 6
9. Ohio State University (10-2) 355 10
10. Michigan State University (8-4) 304 9
11. Northeastern University (11-1) 295 12
12. University of Iowa (7-4) 259 14
13. University of Louisville (10-3) 241 11
14. University of Michigan (6-6) 162 13
15. University of Connecticut (8-3) 158 18
16. Villanova University (10-2) 156 15
17. Boston College (7-3) 139 16
18. James Madison University (6-5) 99 17
19. Boston University (8-3) 97 20
20. University of Richmond (5-5) 41 19
Also Receiving Votes: University of Virginia (34), Northwestern University (18), University of Pennsylvania (14), Hofstra University (11), College of William & Mary (11), University of California, Berkeley (10), Central Michigan University (6), Ohio University (6), Lock Haven University (2), Saint Joseph's University (2), Harvard University (1), University of the Pacific (1), Syracuse University (1).
Previous Rankings:
Week One: #9
Week Two: #7
Week Three: #6
Week Four: #8
Women's Field Hockey.Com (Week Three):
1. Wake Forest
2. Maryland
3. UNC
4. Duke
5. American
6. Old Dominion
7. Penn State
8. Ohio State
9. Iowa
10. Indiana
11. Michigan State
12. Louisville
13. Michigan
14. Northeastern
15. Boston College
16. Boston University
17. Connecticut
18. Villanova
19. James Madison
20. Virginia
Previous Polls:
Week One: #9
Week Two: #7
Week Three: #6
Week Four: #6
Up Next:
The Lady Monarchs return to ACC territory next weekend. Old Dominion travels to Maryland on Friday, October 14th looking to avenge a 2-1 overtime loss to the Terps earlier this season. The Lady Monarchs will then return home looking to sweep the season series with Duke. Old Dominion posted a 5-2 victory over the Blue Devils in Durham earlier this year.