Mace & Crown Fall 2021

five. Another tough road test laid ahead, as the Monarchs had to travel down to Durham, N.C. to play the 22nd ranked Duke Blue Devils. ODU was not able to keep up with Duke and lost the contest 5-1.

In their next matchup, they went on the road to play Providence and won 2-1. ODU met Virginia again at home, falling behind early and coming back in the second half. Two goals were placed to defeat the Cavaliers 2-1. With only three games left in the season, the Monarchs’ next two games were at home, winning both matchups. They defeated Temple 2-0 and fell behind against William & Mary early on. In the second half, they went on to win over the Tribe 2-1. The regular season finale was another tough road test against the 8th ranked Liberty Flames. In the first half, they gave up two goals that made them fall to Liberty 2-1.

Old Dominion finished the regular season with a 13-4 overall record and 5-2 in the Big East Conference. ODU qualified for the Big East Conference Tournament. This gave them a shot at playing for a championship and earning a NCAA tournament berth. The tournament champion receives the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. Head coach Andrew Giffiths expressed his joy for another chance to play the same teams again in the postseason. “I’m excited to get to the Big East Championship and get another shot at these teams,” Griffiths stated. “The best thing about this team is that we have had strong performances from different players each game and so many players have been stepping up to make a difference. We are playing as a real team, and that’s fun to be a part of.”

The Monarchs had a face off with UCONN for the second time this season, and the Huskies were the second seed in the bracket. They had won the last nine consecutive conference tournaments, dating back to 2012. It was a tough and competitive semi-final matchup, as UCONN scored the first goal of the match in the second period. ODU came back with a goal of their own to tie it in the 11 minutes left in the match.

UCONN found the back of the cage again and was back in the lead with an intense final two minutes. ODU did not come back for a second time and fell to the Huskies once again. They were eliminated from the Big East tournament.

Although the Monarchs did not earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, they still had a chance to make the big tournament. The NCAA held its selection show on Nov. 7, where the Monarchs watched to see if they got to play. The tournament field is set with 18 teams, with 10 automatic bids for conference champions. The remaining eight are selected based on the top teams in the country that didn’t win their conference championships. The Monarchs were not selected, and their season ended with a 13-5 record (5-2 Big East). There is a lot to look forward to next season, with a young group of women that are determined to take the next leap and bring back the championship in ways that the program is accustomed to.