Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Old Dominion
Cairone's Two Goals Not Enough as Old Dominion Shocks No. 14 Drexel, 4-2
11/8/2008 6:37:06 PM | Field Hockey
Virginia Beach, Va. – Jen Cairone scored a pair of goals for No. 14 Drexel but Old Dominion pulled off a 4-2 upset in Colonial Athletic Association Championship Semifinals. The second-seeded Dragons fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game but the Monarchs stormed back with a two unanswered goals to advance to the tournament final.
Old Dominion struck first on a penalty corner as Amanda Bieber collected a rebound off of a Colleen McAndrew save and scored less than three minutes into the game. With just over 15 minutes remaining in the opening half, Stephanie Kratzer picked up a loose ball in the arc and fired a shot that gave the Monarchs a 2-0 lead. The game appeared to be headed to halftime with that score when the Dragons earned their second penalty corner of the game. Kim Tunell fired a shot directly off the corner that Susan Ciufo deflected to the right post. Cairone finished the play with a one-timer into the empty cage to cut the Old Dominion lead in half. Ciufo's assist extended her point-scoring streak to 20 games, the longest in Division I this season.
Seven minutes after halftime, the Dragons scored again on a penalty corner. This time Tunell fired a shot directly to the right post where Cairone scored her 10th goal of the season. The scored did not remained tied for long as the Monarchs answered just 39 seconds later on a penalty corner goal from Rachel Stream. Less than three minutes later, Stream added another goal to give Old Dominion a two-goal cushion. Drexel had several scoring opportunities in the closing minutes but were unable to convert.
Old Dominion held a 19-14 advantage in shots and a 9-6 edge in penalty corners. Colleen McAndrew made nine saves in cage in addition to ruining a pair of breakaway opportunities for Old Dominion. Kelly Driscoll made eight saves in the victory.
