By Harry Minium<\/p>\n
NORFOLK, Va. \u2013 Ashley Economopoulos<\/a> came to Old Dominion with a sterling women\u2019s soccer resume, and that has certainly been reflected in her first two games with the Monarchs.<\/p>\n The freshman from Grantville, Pennsylvania took a feed from senior teammate Yuliia Khrystiuk<\/a> and drilled it into the right side of the net midway through the second half, and the Monarchs made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over William and Mary in their home opener Sunday at the ODU Soccer Stadium.<\/p>\n Four nights earlier, Economopoulos had an assist in ODU\u2019s season opener at No. 19 Georgetown, where the Monarchs tied the Hoyas, 2-2.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great opening weekend for us,\u201d ODU Head Coach Angie Hind<\/a> said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo tie Georgetown, who\u2019s one of the nation\u2019s top teams, and the come home and play another game like this, a very physical game, and get the win, that\u2019s huge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Signing Economopoulos was a huge recruiting win for the Monarchs. The 5-foot-7 forward had 35 goals and 21 assists last season at Lower Dauphin High School and was named Pennsylvania’s Player of the Year.<\/p>\n She was also a standout for the Penn Fusion club team.<\/p>\n \u201cPenn Fusion is one of the best clubs in the country,\u201d Hind said. \u201cObviously, we knew she was good, but she\u2019s surprised me with just how mature she\u2019s come in and played.<\/p>\n \u201cShe holds the ball up so well. She has great awareness and as you could see tonight, she finishes under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis win was just a team effort,\u201d added Economopoulos. \u201cThe first half, we were close but just couldn\u2019t finish.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we really turned it on in the second half. We knew we had to get a goal to win the game and eventually, we just clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n The scoring play began when Khrystiuk picked up an errant Tribe pass and immediately hit the gas. Two defenders headed her way and she sent a touch pass to the streaking Economopoulos.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom that point, it was all Ashley,\u201d Khrystiuk said. \u201cIt was a great goal.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s really a good player. She\u2019s got such a bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n ODU outshot the Tribe, 10-6, and had four corner kicks to William and Mary\u2019s two. But the Tribe (0-1-1) made it interesting in the final minutes as they nearly twice connected on goals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always close when we play William & Mary because it\u2019s a rivalry game,\u201d Khrystiuk said. “They didn\u2019t make it easy for us.\u201d<\/p>\n ODU\u2019s back line was superb in the second half.<\/p>\n \u201cWith about five minutes to go, they were pushing, they were just sending the ball forward,\u201d Hind said. \u201cThere was no other thought other than getting the ball into our final third.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we dropped a player back just to protect that a little bit and when you do that, you invite pressure. And we knew that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019ve got such a great back line.” Sydney Somers<\/a>, Ashlynn Kulha<\/a>, Grace Hillis<\/a>, Kendall Mesh<\/a> and Dylan McEntarfer<\/a>, she said. “they were so strong back there. They did a great job to close out the game.\u201d<\/p>\n