No. 6 Field Hockey Takes On No. 1 Maryland, No. 8 Virginia This Weekend :: Lady Monarchs Square Off Against Two Top Ten ACC Teams, Including Two-Time Defending National Champion

Lady Monarchs Square Off Against Two Top Ten ACC Teams, Including Two-Time Defending National Champion

Aug. 29, 2007

NORFOLK, Va. -- It's an ACC weekend for the Old Dominion field hockey team, as they will look to pick up its first wins of the season. The No. 6 Lady Monarchs host two-time defending national champion, Maryland, on Friday, August 31st at 5:00 p.m. and No. 8 Virginia on Sunday, September 2nd at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be held at Foreman Field and admission is free.

The Terps and Cavaliers are just one of four ACC teams the Lady Monarchs will face this season. It marks the first of two meetings with Maryland in a series that has played home-and-home since the 1999 season. Old Dominion will head up to College Park on Friday, October 12th to close out this year's season series. The Terps are not the only ACC home-and-home series on the schedule. The Lady Monarchs will also face Duke and North Carolina twice during the regular season in 2007.

The Lady Monarchs come into the weekend with a 0-1 record having fallen to No. 7 Penn State, 3-1, in the season opener. The contest versus Miami (Ohio) was postponed following a four-hour lightening delay and does not count in the standings. Sophomore Anna Kern (Va. Beach, Va.) tallied the lone Lady Monarch goal against the Lady Lions, while in net junior Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.) posted four saves.

The Lady Monarchs hold a 22-17-1 all-time record against the Terps and will be looking to return to the win column against one their biggest rivals after Maryland managed to sweep the season series last year. The Terps won both outings by a scores of 1-0. Old Dominion's last win against Maryland came during the 2005 with a 4-1 victory in College Park.

Maryland enters Friday's contest with a 2-0 record after defeating Northwestern, 6-0, and Central Michigan, 5-0, last weekend. The Terps are led by freshman Katie O'Donnell who has already posted four goals and three assists. O'Donnell is the youngest member of the US National Team where she is teammates with former Lady Monarchs Tiffany Snow, Angie Loy, Melissa Leonetti, Dana Sensenig, and Caroline Nichols. Second on the stat sheet for the Terps is junior Susie Rowe and sophomore Nicole Muracco, each with three goals. In net, senior Kathryn Masson has started the two games making seven saves in the two Terp shutouts.

Old Dominion holds a 31-9 all-time record versus the Cavaliers having won the last 13 meetings dating back to the 1997 season. Last season the Lady Monarchs defeated Virginia, 3-2, in Charlottesville.

The Cavaliers will host Richmond Thursday night before traveling to Norfolk. In their lone game of the 2007 season thus far, Virginia fell 3-1 to No. 7 Penn State. Freshman Traci Ragukas scored the opening goal of the match against the Lady Lions, but Penn State would go on to score three unanswered goals for the victory.

Note: Depending on weather conditions at the field, Gametracker will be available for both games the weekend.