Frustrations. This term could be felt by all in attendance on Thursday night as the Lady Monarchs fell to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 1-0, suffering their first loss of the season. ODU tallied 12 shots on goal the evening in comparison to Loiusiaina’s two, but it was the defense from Louisana who stood tall and maintained their goal advantage.
Late game close-calls further fueled the disappointment of the Monarch crowd and the team as they headed back to the locker room after the defeat.
The Lady Monarchs were without one of their midfield anchors, senior Ece Turkolgu, as she went abroad to represent her homeland, Turkey, in international play. Her absence could be felt immediately as the team brought themselves into an early struggle for power in ODU’s deep territory.
However, ODU was able to get some key takeaways defensively and shifted the momentum as they got down the field for an offensive attack. In the 10th minute, freshman Riley Mullen was able to drive to the middle of the pitch, relatively untouched, and produce a shot on goal, but it lacked pace and was saved by Louisiana’s junior goalkeeper Makenna Garcia.
ODU tallied 10 shots on goal in the first half, more than Louisiana would have throughout the entirety of the game.
The second half of play opened in panic as the Ragin Cajuns were able to put a goal on the board in the 54th minute during a brief lapse in the Lady Monarch’s defense. The Cajun striker made a pass across the middle of the field to her teammate who flicked the ball into the net. Louisiana jumped out ahead 1-0.
Following this setback, ODU dominated possession characteristic of their past home wins. The Lady Monarchs took a number of shots, however, many lacked pace or were off-target. Garcia had a stellar performance in the net, resulting in nearly a dozen saves.
In the 88th minute, Anna Tørsløv tried to redirect a ball back into the box and collided with the midsection of a Louisiana defender. This, unfortunately, caused Tørsløv to have to leave the contest but gave the Lady Monarchs a free kick around 20 yards out from goal. All players, home and away, lined up for the kick as Andrea Balcazar-Algarin reared back and booted the ball at the goal. Crisis struck as the ball sailed just barely over the crossbar.
The Lady Monarchs also had a chance in the 90th minute as a service by Anessa Ardt from around the home dugout found its way into the box. Multiple Monarchs had a foot on the ball at point-blank range before a touch flew high over the crossbar sealing the demise of the ODU side for the evening.
“Despite the chances we had, we couldn’t hit the net and that was a big issue for us. We had to convert some of these chances,” Coach Hind said. “When you don’t, you have to be perfect at the back and that’s hard to do throughout. They scored a fantastic breakaway goal and from then on we were chasing the clock. “
This loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns brings the Lady Monarchs to 6-1-2 and Louisiana to 4-3-2. Both teams are now 1-1 in Sun Belt play. The Lady Monarchs continue the grind this Sunday, Sept. 24th, as they travel to Statesboro to take on Georgia Southern. Old Dominion returns home on Sept. 30th to face Southern Miss at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.
