— By David Walsh
Marshall struck first. That inspired Old Dominion to take its game to a higher level.
The No. 2 seed Monarchs did exactly that and blitzed the No. 7 seed Thundering Herd, 5-1, Monday in quarterfinal round action in the Sun Belt Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala.
Old Dominion extended its win streak to five.
Appalachian State, the third seed, beat No. 6 seed Louisiana, 1-0, in overtime to advance. The Mountaineers will face Old Dominion on Wednesday.
Marshall netted the first goal, then watched Old Dominion score four answered goals for a 4-1 lead at the break.
At the 3:24 mark, the Thundering Herd’s Larissa Ozorio crossed a ball from the left into the box and Luiza Travassos headed it in for Marshall’s first goal against the Monarchs this season. ODU beat the Herd, 3-0, in the regular season.
Old Dominion (10-6-2) would get the equalizer in the 15th minute. Riley Mullen got a takeaway, broke left past a Herd defender and curled a left-footed shot inside the post.
Old Dominion moved ahead for good 2-1 in the 16th minute when Mullen, in the box, used her right foot to volley the ball past the Herd keeper Emma Durand into the net.
In the 33rd minute, Dylan McEntarfer, following a corner kick which the Herd keeper got a hand on, took a pass to the middle and sent a shot home.
Off another set piece, Hannah Morgan gained control of a header sent down, turned right and put the ball in off her right for the halftime lead.
Old Dominion kept rolling at the start of the second half. Ashley Economopoulos used her right foot to put a shot home in the center of the goal. The fifth goal is a season-high one-game total for the Monarchs. Ecoomopoulos had two goals in Old Dominion’s win over Marshall back in October.
Marshall (8-6-5) had to beat Coastal Carolina in the season finale to qualify for postseason and did just that, 4-1. The eight wins match last year’s win total and put it in postseason play for the third straight year. The Herd last did that from 2013-15.
Marshall has never won a conference tournament or qualified for the NCAA Tournament in its 29-year history and never. The Herd made the Conference USA title match in 2015.
Old Dominion and James Madison shared the SBC regular-season title. Each team went 7-1-2 in league play for 23 points.
The series between Marshall and Old Dominion is now 5-5-3.
Ashlynn Kulha for Old Dominion was named SBC Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight year. Ellie Goodrich made Goalkeeper of the Year. She had two saves Monday and has eight clean sheets.
Marshall’s goal was just the 13th allowed by the Monarchs this season.