Nov. 8, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Lady Monarchs will travel to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to begin their journey in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Old Dominion (17-5) will serve as the tournament's fourths seed taking on host Ohio State in the opening round. Should the Lady Monarchs advance, they will await the winners of the Michigan/Boston University match-up in the second round.
The Old Dominion field hockey team has a long storied NCAA tradition. Winners of a record nine NCAA Championships, the Lady Monarchs are the only Division I field hockey team to advance to every tournament since its inception in 1981. In all, the Lady Monarchs hold a 44-15 NCAA Tournament record with their most recent national championship coming in 2000.
The Lady Monarchs enter the NCAA Tournament having received the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) automatic bid last weekend. Old Dominion defeated William & Mary, 3-1, in the league's semifinals and blanked Northeastern, 3-0, in the tournament finale.
Old Dominion holds a 5-5 record against team in the 2005 tournament field, including a 4-1 victory over the NCAA's top seed, Maryland. The Lady Monarchs also posted victories against third seeded Duke, North Carolina, Penn State, and Richmond. In fact, all five losses (Maryland, American, Michigan, Duke, and North Carolina) were only by one goal.
Entering tournament action, the Lady Monarchs are winners of their last six outings and have won 14 of their last 15 games. The lone blemish during that stretch was a 2-3 setback to Duke. In their 17-5 record, all five losses are to NCAA Tournament participants.
Ohio State and Old Dominion have met only twice on the turf with Old Dominion holding a 2-0 advantage. The teams first met in 1984 as the Lady Monarchs opened the season with 10-0 victory over the Buckeyes en-route to their third straight NCAA Championship trophy. The two teams then met again in 1996 in a neutral site game at Penn State with the Lady Monarchs taking home a 3-1 win.
The Buckeyes enter tournament action with a 15-6 overall mark earning one of the tournament's eight at-large berths. Ohio State, ranked 11th in the final STX/NFHCA Poll released on Tuesday fell 3-1 to Indiana in the semifinals of the BIG 10 Tournament and have gone back and fourth between the win-loss columns in its last eight games. Common opponents between the Buckeyes and Lady Monarchs include Maryland, Richmond, Duke, Miami (OH) and BIG 10 rivals Michigan and Penn State. Ohio State handed losses to Richmond, Miami (OH), and Michigan in those match-ups.