Lady Monarchs set up No. 1 vs. No. 2 contest

Published 9:38 pm Monday, September 12, 2011

No. 2-ranked Old Dominion remained undefeated on the field hockey season by winning the Buckeye Classic in Columbus on Saturday and Sunday.

The Lady Monarchs (6-0) beat No. 5 Syracuse 2-1 on Saturday. Freshman midfielder Kelsey Smither (Lakeland) assisted Emma Batten’s goal 7:11 into the match for a 2-0 ODU lead. Batten leads ODU with eight of the team’s 21 goals through its six victories.

ODU blanked Ohio State 2-0 on Sunday. Smither picked up another assist as the Lady Monarchs gained a 2-0 margin in the 32nd minute. Smither has one goal and five assists on the season.

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Old Dominion will have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown on Friday at North Carolina, then move on to Durham to face No. 9 Duke on Sunday.

The Lady Monarchs already have one victory over a No. 1-ranked squad this season. ODU beat defending national champion Maryland 4-0 on Sept. 2 in Norfolk.

Liberty won its first match and first tournament in its short field hockey history over the weekend at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.

The Lady Flames beat Marywood 3-0 on Saturday for the program’s first-ever win and beat Christopher Newport 2-1 on Sunday to win the invitational tourney.

Liberty is in its first varsity field hockey season. While the Lady Flames are a Div. I program, they’re playing a mixed schedule amongst Divs. I, II and III this season.

Freshman Megan Johnson (Lakeland) is a starting midfielder for the Lady Flames.

Liberty (2-2) travels to Moon Township, Pa. on Friday for matches against Div. I Robert Morris on Friday and against Div. II Lindenwood.

Longwood’s field hockey team fell 1-0 at No. 9 Duke on Sunday in Durham.

Junior midfielder Kaity Byrum (Lakeland) notched one of Longwood’s two shots on goal. Duke outshot Longwood 25-2 overall and 14-2 in shots on goal.

Longwood (2-4) plays at Virginia Commonwealth (2-4) on Thursday evening.

Freshman forward Kendell Combs (Lakeland) and freshman goalkeeper Marissa Betkowski (Lakeland) are on the Lady Ram squad.

Barbeau

Randolph-Macon sophomore Brock Barbeau (Nansemond-Suffolk) scored the game-winning goal for the Yellow Jacket soccer squad in a 4-3 overtime victory against Wesley on Saturday in a two-day tournament at Bridgewater.

Wesley led RMC 3-1 before two Yellow Jacket goals in the last 10 minutes of regulation. Barbeau’s sudden-death goal came 3:05 into overtime. It was Barbeau’s first goal in 13 matches he’s played in with RMC.

Randolph-Macon fell 1-0 to Ferrum on Sunday in Bridgewater. The Yellow Jackets (1-2) host Washington and Lee in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference match on Wednesday.

Winston-Salem State moved to 2-0 in its gridiron campaign with a 67-16 romp at CIAA rival Virginia Union on Saturday.

The Rams led 20-3 at halftime and 54-3 by the end of the third quarter.

Darryl Freeney (Nansemond River) caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jamie DeGeare as part of the second-half Ram scoring.

Freeney transferred to WSSU from East Carolina. He’s a junior wide receiver for the Rams.

WSSU (2-0, 2-0) continues in conference play with a game at Chowan Saturday at 6 p.m.