Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/6/10
From Press Releases and Staff Reports
The Old Dominion women’s lacrosse team had one of the programs most successful seasons in 2009, winning 11 games and reaching the CAA Tournament semifinals. This season, the Lady Monarchs look to improve on that as they welcome back eight of their top 10 scorers from a year ago and a number of Philly girls that made major contributions.
“We always have high expectations at ODU, but with so many girls stepping into new roles this year, we’ll need some youngsters to contribute immediately to meet those expectations,” said reigning CAA Coach of the Year Sue Stahl (Ursinus College), a former Temple assistant and US World Cup team coach and graduate of the former Lansdowne-Aldan High. “We have a great deal of young talent, but many girls did a lot of watching last year. We’ll see how they respond under game pressure and ultimately if the girls stepping into larger roles perform well, the team will excel.”
ODU opens today at American University at 1 p.m.
ODU’s top returners include Preseason All-CAA selections Sarah Geary (Springfield-Delco) and Ashley Kellogg (Downingtown West). Geary, who was selected as the 2009 CAA Rookie of the Year and named Second Team All-CAA, started all 16 games for ODU a year ago and posted an 11-5 mark on the year. A Second Team All-South Region selection, Geary recorded 159 saves and scooped 51 groundballs in 2009.
“You need a stopper to be a successful team and Sarah has been that for us,” said Stahl of the redshirt sophomore. “Going into this season we have a somewhat inexperienced defense so I’m going to expect a lot more from her. We need Sarah to make sure every goal allowed is a good goal.”
Kellogg, a senior attack, was a First Team All-CAA selection after a 2009 campaign that saw her score a team-high 45 goals to go along with nine assists. Kellogg also led the Lady Monarchs with four game-winning goals.
Stahl also expects major contributions from Lisa Bernardini (George School), Sarah Wright, Nicole McMahon and co-captain Saratu Dodo.
“Lisa Bernardini was a CAA All-Rookie Team selection last year and with her experience I expect her to take on a larger role this year,” explained Stahl of the sophomore midfielder who tallied 23 goals last year.
The Monarchs also feature sophomore midfielder Rebecca Hartrum (Springfield-Delco) and freshman twins Carolyn and Alex Burns (Archbishop Carroll). Alex plays defense and Carolyn midfield.
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