ODU men’s soccer ended their four-game homestand on a high note Tuesday night as they scored a 1-0 victory over Campbell University. This result leaves them with a record of 5-0-5, with no defeats so far on the season.
Campbell came into the contest 2-4-2 and came as the last non-conference match of the 2023 season.
The Monarchs came out firing early as Jonas Schmalbach got into the penalty box before being fouled in the 11th minute. With this, the referee signaled for a penalty and midfielder Karan Mandair lined up to kick on the Camel goalie. Mandair buried the kick into the top left corner of the goal and gave the Monarchs a 1-0 advantage 10:47 into the contest.
With this score, Mandair leads the Monarchs in goals. All of his goals (4) have come via penalty kicks and tie him nationally for most individual points scored off penalties.
Despite the early score of ODU, the Camels actually maintained the majority of possession in the first half, but were not able to make it through the back line of ODU and gain an equalizer.
The Monarchs were able to bounce back in the second half and gain more possession, outshooting the Camels 6-3 in the second 45 minutes. At 90, the Camels and the Monarchs remained close in terms of shots on goal, 8-7 in ODU’s favor and corners 6-5 in Campbell’s favor.
“Really important one tonight as the midweek contests are always difficult,” said ODU assistant coach Nathan Jones. “It was our last non-conference game of the season and getting a home win along with another clean sheet to finish the homestand unbeaten is huge. We are looking forward to a big test on Saturday at South Carolina.”
The next match for Old Dominion is a road trip to Columbia, SC to square off with South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Moving forward for Monarch men’s soccer, the road becomes challenging as they take on three top-10 ranked opponents in Marshall (1), UCF (2), and West Virginia (9). All of these games will also be in conference matches. ODU will face off against UCF on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. and Marshall on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Both of these games are at the ODU soccer complex, so come out and support the home team.
