On a soggy Sunday afternoon, the No. 14 Old Dominion Field Hockey team extended their win streak to eight games with a thrilling 2-1 victory over in-state foe VCU on senior day. The Monarchs needed the two goals in the final five minutes of the match to rally past the Rams to send their seniors off on a winning nod. 

Old Dominion came into the matchup with a stellar 13-2 (5-1 Big East) record after earning their seventh straight victory in Philadelphia, PA over Temple University 2-0. The Rams came into the matchup 9-7 (3-3 Atlantic 10).

Both teams took the field for the start of play and the Monarchs were the first to get some action as junior Marlon de Bruijne put a shot on the net that was saved by the VCU goalie. Senior Evelyn Murray would put up another shot for ODU that was also saved, but the score remained even at zero after the first period. The action began to pick up a bit in the second period on both sides as each team put up multiple shots on goal, but the game remained deadlocked at zero. The game would remain tied going into halftime as Old Dominion outshot the Rams 6-2 in the first half. 

To begin the third period, VCU came out with adjustments that struck early as the Rams took the 1-0 lead just over a minute into the second half. Although the Monarch offense was producing chances in the first half, they were held to zero shots in the third period as they were down going into the final frame. That was when the rain began to pour and eventually, ODU was able to generate some offensive pressure in the fourth period. In the 55th minute of the matchup, the Monarchs found an opening and got down the field as sophomore Frederique Zandbergen dished the ball to De Bruijne, who then found the back of the cage as Old Dominion tied the game at one with just a little time remaining. 

Just a few minutes later, in the 59th minute, the Monarchs’ offense found themselves with another scoring opportunity to possibly win it. Freshman Emily Tammaro would cross the ball in front of the cage to Sanci Molkenboer, who would then put her stick down to slap it into the goal, giving Old Dominion the 2-1 advantage with only a little over a minute left in the contest. VCU tried to utilize the final minute of the match with desperate offensive attacking chances, but the Lady Monarchs were able to fend off the late push and were ultimately victorious over VCU.

After the match, head coach Andrew Griffiths shared his thoughts on the VCU squad and how his team started off slow but was able to dig deep and earn this victory with the two late goals. 

“They are a very good team, and we didn’t underestimate them. We weren’t really clicking with our passing and not moving the ball quick enough and not making the most intelligent choices in the attacking circle in the first half,” Griffiths stated. “Second half we were much better. We were fortunate enough to put two goals in at the end. We were working hard, and I felt like we needed something to bounce our way.”

Old Dominion will be back in action at L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Oct. 28th for their final regular season game against another Commonwealth foe in Liberty University. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. After the season finale, the Lady Monarchs will still remain at home as they will host the Big East Conference tournament with the semi-finals taking place on Nov. 4. The championship will be held on Nov. 6 regardless if Old Dominion will take part in it or not.