THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9410150400
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
In a season of ups and downs, the Old Dominion women's soccer team wasn't expecting Friday's game against George Mason to be one of the high points of the year.
After all, the Patriots came into the game ranked 12th in the ISAA coaches' poll, and keeper Jen Mead had allowed just four goals.
So it was at least a moral victory, if not a victory in the books, when the Monarchs escaped with just a 3-0 defeat in a game played in a wildly swirling wind.
``I'm ecstatic about the result, especially in this hurricane,'' ODU coach Linda Hamilton said. ``I'm very pleased with the way they played.''
The Monarchs (4-7-1, 2-4 in the CAA) came out in the driving rain and held George Mason to one goal in the first half. Jenn Gross brought the ball up through midfield for the Patriots (12-1-1, 5-0) and fired a shot from 25 yards out, beating goalie Pam Dennis for her team-leading 15th goal of the season.
Against the wind in the second half, the tide turned against the Monarchs. Less than a minute in, a George Mason shot ricocheted off the right goal post and out in front of Dennis. Tammy Pearman headed the ball into the goal to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead. Aimee Willard scored the final goal with 32:35 left.
``To me this is a win. I expected them to score 8 or 9 (goals),'' said Dennis, who ranks fifth in the nation in saves and made 26 stops against George Mason, which outshot ODU 35-2. ``We gave them a run for their money, but the wind really killed us in the second half.'' by CNB