A Late Goal Spoils ODU’s Seniors Dream Night
Written By: Jake Ullrich
Assistant Sports Editor
A 77-minute Ken Tribbett goal cancelled out an earlier Yannick Smith goal and the Monarchs were only held to a draw in their regular season finale.
Smith scored his sixteenth goal of the season in the 58 minute and it seemed that Monarchs would be able to hold on for a crucial three points, but a scramble in the Old Dominion’s penalty box ultimately led to a Drexel equalizer. Neither team scored in overtime and the game ended tied at one a piece.
On a bitterly cold and windy night, the Monarchs struggled to ever find their best form and were ultimately outplayed by a very strong Drexel team.
The Monarchs chose to attack against the wind in the first half in hope to hold the Dragons scoreless and be able to take advantage in the second half. The plan worked perfectly when Smith opened the scoring in the 58 minute after a goalless first half.
“At 1-nil, I thought we had the game under control,” coach Alan Dawson said. “We let it slip. The weather made a huge difference. You know how we like to play and it’s difficult to do that in these conditions.”
The Monarchs fielded a quite different line up than what they have been accustomed to seeing. Midfielder Jordan LeBlanc was serving a suspension for a red card against Northeastern and center back Alex DeJohn was on crutches after injuring his foot in practice. Freshman Skylar Hagan slid to right back and Alex Vaughn got the start in midfield.
“Two of our best players, Jordan LeBlanc and Alex DeJohn, were not in the lineup,” Dawson said. “But I thought we still had enough talent to beat a team like Drexel.”
Smith has become accustomed to scoring goals in the penalty box, so it was a nice surprise to see him strike well from 20 yards out. The Drexel goalkeeper may have felt he could have done better with the shot, but the ball snuck into the corner to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
It seemed Drexel would equalize immediately when Manuel Cazares hit the post with a brilliant 25-yard strike. Old Dominion’s goalkeeper Victor Francoz seemed to be beaten and was quite relieved to see the ball ricochet off the post and away from danger.
Francoz, who had a brilliant game and single-handedly kept the Monarchs close, was helpless in the 77 minute when Tribbett deflected the ball into the goal. After a scramble in the Monarchs’ box, Tribbett somehow found the ball and looped it into the goal. The ball nestled itself in the corner and stunned the Monarchs and crowd.
Both teams had great opportunities to win the game when Drexel’s forward Malcolm LeBourne shot wide after being released on goal and later when Monarchs’ Gideon Asante found himself unmarked 12 yards out, but pulled his shot wide.
The game went into to overtime and both teams seemed destined to go for all three points. Smith had the ball in the Dragons’ net twice, but both times were called back for violations. The first was a narrowly called offside, which Smith felt certain was the wrong call.
The disappointing result overshadowed the home finale for the fantastic senior Tommy Webb. Webb, a captain and four-year starter, has been the heart and soul for the team for the past years and will be remembered at Old Dominion for years to come. He plays with a dedication and passion that others would flock towards and deserves to walk away with a championship medal.
The Monarchs go into the CAA Championship in disappointing form, losing two and drawing one in their last three games.
Photography By Marlie De Clerck
