Field Hockey Falls In Road Battle At #1 Old Dominion

Friday, October 21

Norfolk, Va.

5:00 PM

James Madison University

Old Dominion

10/21/2011 11:20:00 PM | Field Hockey

NORFOLK, Va., Oct. 21, 2011 – Senior back Lindsay Cutchins (Suffolk, Va./Lakeland) struck for the game's first goal in the fourth minute, but top-ranked Old Dominion scored late in the first half and added four more in the second on its way to a 7-1 win at Powhatan Sports Center in Norfolk, Va., on Friday night.

JMU dropped its second straight game to a team ranked at the top of the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division Coaches Poll, as No. 1 ODU improved to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes fell to 6-9 overall and 2-4 in the league.

Cutchins' goal was her third of the season, ranking her second on the team. She had one of the team's three shots and one of two shots on goal. Freshman midfielder Ysaline Nobels (Dion-Valmont, Belgium/College du Christ-Roi) added an assist while junior back Auburn Weisensale (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) and redshirt sophomore forward Courtney Versfeld (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe/Dominican Convent) each had shots.

ODU's Maartje van Rijswijk and Rebecca Condie each struck for two goals with Condie adding an assist to lead all players with five points. Kathryn Kirk, Kati Nearhouse and Kelsey Smither scored one goal each. Stephanie Kratzer chipped in with three assists.

Senior goalkeeper Margo Savage (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) drew the start and played the first 37 minutes, 11 seconds in net. She made two saves, but took the loss to drop to 5-8. Sophomore Stephanie Tarafas (Suffolk, Va./Nanesmond River) made three saves in 32 minutes, 49 seconds in net. Freshman back Rachel Palumbo (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added a defensive save, the first of her career.

Devon Seifert went the distance in net for the Monarchs. She made one save and allowed one goal in 70 minutes to improve to 16-1 on the year.

JMU took a 1-0 lead, just 3:57 into game as Cutchins tallied on a penalty corner. Nobels received the initial pass and her shot from the scoring circle line was redirected by Cutchins into the net for the goal.

The Dukes held the lead for nearly 13 minutes, until Kratzer set up Condie on a penalty corner for the tying goal. Nearly five minutes later, van Rijswijk gave ODU the lead as she dribbled along the right baseline and slipped a shot past Savage for her seven goal of the season.