Originally published October 25, 2021.

It was a bittersweet Sunday afternoon at L.R. Hill Sports Complex as the Old Dominion Monarchs celebrated their Senior Day. They welcomed the Tribe of William & Mary for the final home match of the regular season. In the pregame, the Monarchs honored their seniors Marlee McClendon, Alice Demars, Meghan Smart, Jessica Gabriel, and Ilse Westera.

ODU has won 12 of their last 14 matches and are on a three-game winning streak (12-3, 5-1 Big East) of the year. They recently defeated Temple University this past Friday with a score of 2-0.

To begin the match, the Monarch offense came out looking to get on the board early. In minutes five and six, first year student Alix Marien and graduate student Meghan Smart both took shots, with Smart’s shot on goal that was saved by the Tribe goalkeeper. William & Mary would come back down the field and go on the offensive attack. In minute nine, the Tribe found the back of the cage with a goal from Lauren Curran to take the lead early on 1-0. It was Curran’s seventh goal of the season. ODU would come back in the next few minutes of the period and put up three more shots against the Tribe defense, with one from Marien that was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. The first period would end with William and Mary leading 1-0, although the Monarchs outshot them 5-1.

In the second frame, both teams would go back and forth throughout the period, but there were no shots taken from either side. In minute 29, the first green card of the match, was issued on Curran for William & Mary. The Tribe would go into the break with a 1-0 lead, with the Monarchs holding the 5-1 shots advantage.

Coming out of halftime, Old Dominion had regrouped and began to take control of the match. In minute 38, ODU found the back of the net for their first goal of the day. Sophomore Jolene Ulichney got the goal off of a pass in front of the cage with an assist from first year student Frederiq Zanderbergen. It was Ulichney’s second goal of the season. The second green card in the match was issued in minute 41, but on Junior Alice Demars of Old Dominion instead. This, however, did not phase the Monarchs because in the next minute, they would get their second goal of the day from Sophomore Marlon Bruijne off of an assist in front of the cage from Marien. It was Bruijne’s tenth goal of the season. In minute 43, the first yellow card of the match was issued to Marien of the Monarchs. Old Dominion would lead 2-1 going into the final period, having outshot the Tribe 7-1.

In the final 15 minutes of the match, the game was deadlocked, but the Monarchs maintained their pressure on William & Mary. In minute 48, the Tribe would put their second shot on goal on the day, but it was saved by Senior ODU goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray, who had three saves in the matchup. The Monarch pressure came alive in the next three minutes of the period, with two penalty corner opportunities that resulted in another shot on goal from De Bruijne that was saved from the Tribe goalkeeper. In minute 51, another green card was issued on Tabby Billingham of William & Mary, with an ensuing yellow card that was issued on De Bruijne of Old Dominion. The Monarchs received another penalty corner chance in minute 53 that would lead to a shot from Junior Delphine Le Jeune that went wide of the cage. Old Dominion would go on to win the match 2-1. They outshot William & Mary 10-3 and had three penalty corners to the Tribe’s zero.

After the match, Old Dominion head coach Andrew Griffiths expressed his thoughts on the resiliency of his team from the first half to the second half. He also mentioned what it meant to come away with a win to send his seniors off on the right note. “We started pretty slow today but ended up coming on pretty strong in the second half with two really nice goals. We wanted to honor our five seniors with how we played today and being resilient in the end we were able to do that, Griffiths stated. “I am really proud of our seniors and very glad we could get a win to send them off at home.”

The Monarchs have clinched a spot in the Big East Tournament in hopes of having a deep postseason run. The Monarchs have won four in a row, as well as 13 of their last 15. ODU ends the regular season with an 8-1 record when playing at home.

Old Dominion improves their record to (13-3, 5-1 Big East) as the Tribe falls to (3-11, 3-2 CAA). ODU will finish the regular season on the road, when they travel to Lynchburg, VA to face off with the ninth-ranked Liberty Flames. The match will be on Friday, October 29, with a 3 p.m. slated start.