The AU women's lacrosse team fell to Old Dominion on Saturday, losing to the Lady Monarchs, 14-12, in a home contest at the William I Jacobs Recreational Complex.
The loss marks the Eagles' second in their first two games after losing to Towson last Wednesday in their season opener. AU's record is now 0-2, putting them in an early hole to start the season.
"We felt really good coming in, but we just didn't show up," said AU coach Ashley Flanigan. "We were outhustled, they were more aggressive. They just wanted it more."
The Eagles kept the contest close for the majority of the game, with both teams failing to score for the first eight-and-a-half minutes of play.
Old Dominion scored first with a shot by Ashley Stanwick, but the Eagles tied with a goal of their own by Jackie Lane.
AU took its first lead with about 10 minutes to play in the first half on a free-position shot by Sarah Milewski to put the Eagles up 5-4. AU kept ahead at the end of the first with a 7-5 lead.
The Lady Monarchs caught up in the second, eventually getting ahead, 12-11, with 11 minutes to play on a shot by Caroline Jacobs. That put Old Dominion ahead for good. Tough defense and an impressive 14 saves by AU goalie Kathleen Finnegan kept the Eagles close, but weren't enough to regain the lead.
"We really cost ourselves with draw controls, too many fouls - fundamentals," Flanigan said.
The Eagles were outplayed by Old Dominion, with the Lady Monarchs holding the advantage in draw controls (19-9) and shots (36-30). AU committed 18 turnovers and had 17 fouls, while the Lady Monarchs had similar numbers with 17 turnovers and 18 fouls.
AU will try for its first win when it travels to La Salle Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm hoping [the loss] will be a wake-up call for them," Flanigan said. "I hope it will make them come into practice ready so that we're confident going in against La Salle"
