THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611110153
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 52 lines
Rosemarie van der Rijt's most important shot of the Colonial Athletic Association field hockey tournament wasn't on one of her four goals, but rather, a pass out of defensive coverage to nobody in particular.
The shot didn't score. It just clinched Old Dominion's fifth CAA title in six years.
Van der Rijt's clearing kick with 28 seconds left in the game ended a furious American rally and secured the Lady Monarchs' 3-2 win Sunday at Foreman Field.
And though the Lady Monarchs were heavily favored to win the tournament beforehand, it didn't dampen the relief and happiness of the ODU players.
``Winning the title is still special,'' said midfielder Heather Simon, who also scored four goals in the tournament. ``It's always a different team, always different people, so it's always a special feeling to win.''
Early on it seemed unlikely that any sort of defensive stop would be needed to save the win for Old Dominion. The Lady Monarchs held American to a pair of shots on goal in the first half, while forcing seven penalty corners.
Heather Simon scored ODU's first two goals on putbacks, and van der Rijt hit a hard slapshot off a penalty corner past Eagle goalkeeper Stacy Thomas with 14:36 left in the game.
Even after Stacey Siu Butt converted a penalty corner of her own with 12:59 remaining, the game appeared to be in hand.
But with 1:12 left in the game, American scored when Siu Butt's shot was deflected by Sage Asteak into the box. Some in the crowd thought the ball had gone off a defender's foot before it went past ODU goalie Jamie Hill.
The Eagles continued to press in the first half of the closing minute, but van der Rijt's pass ended American's final threat.
``We were never worried (about losing the lead,'' said Danielle Chellew, who was named tournament co-MVP with Siu Butt. ``We just knew we had to stay focused and not let Stacey get the ball, and if she did, then we just had to stop her.''
The win means that the third-ranked Lady Monarchs will likely host an NCAA regional next weekend when pairings are announced Wednesday. The top four seeded teams in the country host three-team regionals and get byes into the second round.
``We'd like to play on our home field; we get a lot of great backing out here,'' said Anders. ``But if we don't (host a regional), then we won't let in become a factor for us.''
But most were content to live the moment for a while longer before thinking ahead.
``It's an exciting day for us, and we'll enjoy this,'' Chellew said. ``But we'll still be focused for the next game.'' by CNB