The AU lacrosse team earned a much-needed 13-11 win in its match against Old Dominion University at Jacobs Field on March 22, breaking their three-game losing streak.
After AU had a two point lead in the first half, ODU threatened to take the game in the second half, but AU powered through with the help of newly implemented motion offense and dominant performances from senior attacker Alex Lugovina and sophomore attacker Jessica Wojciechowski.
“We put in a new offensive motion this week at practice and it seems to get everyone else a little more involved,” head coach Emma Wallace said. “It was executed to a tee. Clearly it got a lot of great results so were going to keep pushing and working with this motion offense.”
This new offense will force the Eagles to keep moving and creates many passing opportunities and openings for easy goals.
The Eagles (3-7, 0-3, PL) started the game aggressively, immediately attacking the Monarchs’ (3-6) net. Wojciechowski netted her first of four goals less than 30 seconds into the game. It didn’t take long for ODU to respond, scoring a goal of its own 26 seconds later.
To take back the lead, Lugovina scored the first of her career-high five goals at 18:53. However, ODU took a 4-2 lead after a sudden surge in the middle of the first half.
AU regrouped and scored five consecutive goals to control the rest of the half. Freshman midfielder Madison Hoon sparked the onslaught of offense with an unassisted goal at 12:46.
The second half started similarly to the first half with two quick goals. Lugovina commanded the field and charged right through ODU defenders to score at 28:58 and again at 28:05. ODU had enough ability to keep up with AU and prevent the game from getting out of reach.
With 22:05 left in regulation, ODU rallied to score four consecutive goals and tie the game 10-10. The Monarchs outran AU and positioned themselves close to the net in the comeback.
Lugovina jolted the Eagles back into the game with an assist by Wojciechoski to regain the lead with 16:50 to go in the game. Wojceichowski followed her assist by scoring a goal of her own to give AU a 12-10 lead.
The Eagles stalled and defended the Monarchs, shutting ODU down for the rest of the half. In spite of its early second half run, ODU scored its last goal at 14:55 and AU was able to secure the win.
Freshman goalkeeper Jackie Ferri collected three saves in the first 41 minutes of the game while before being relieved by senior goalkeeper Ashley Dalisera.
“The key to the win was ‘keep going’. That was our message at halftime was ‘keep going, keep the foot on the pedal and don’t give up’. Keeping up that level of intensity really aided our win,” Wallace said.
The Eagles look to continue their resurgence on March 26 when they close their three-game homestand and play George Mason University at Jacobs Field.
jreyes@theeagleonline.com
