Old Dominion University women’s lacrosse lost to the Monmouth Hawks, 9-5, in a road contest at Kessler Stadium on April 18.
The match marked the final away game of the season for Old Dominion and was significant for players finishing their collegiate careers. Head coach Theresa Walton said, “Tough way to end this season on the road, feel for this group and especially for the players that this was their last away game of their careers. They definitely deserved a better finish to the end of this season as whole, their work ethic and mentality has stayed strong throughout.”
Monmouth opened scoring early in the first quarter with a goal from Brooke Lacy. Old Dominion responded with goals from Jules Mills and Natalie Calandra-Ryan to briefly take a lead before Monmouth tied it up again through Grace Curtin. Curtin then scored twice more before halftime, giving Monmouth a 4-2 advantage at the break.
In the second half, Annalynn Pompetti brought Old Dominion within one goal before Monmouth extended its lead again through Lauren Rismani and another goal by Curtin. In the final quarter, Julia Butler and Mills scored for Old Dominion but Monmouth finished strong with three consecutive goals by Marlaina Grimm, Shea Berigan, and Curtin.
Walton commented on her team’s performance: “Same issue we have had this second half of season, we couldn’t get going offensively to take control when we were dominating the possession game. Eight shots total on the cage says it all. It didn’t help that our clear game struggled early on and then cards killed us by the end too.” She added that inconsistencies had affected results: “Unfortunately this season has been a culmination of repeated inconsistencies in our game that have been in our complete control. Big switch next Saturday to play one of the strongest teams in our conference and in the country, JMU. I hope we can end with a strong showing at home to honor this graduating class.”
Monmouth outshot Old Dominion 32-19 while Old Dominion led draw controls 10-5. Brynn Bowen made 13 saves for ODU; Katie Sullivan recorded two saves and Gia Mitchell added one for Monmouth.
Old Dominion will return home next Saturday to host James Madison University for Senior Day.
