NORFOLK, Va. –  Villanova Field Hockey traveled to Norfolk, Va. Friday, Oct. 26 for a BIG EAST matchup against No. 25 Old Dominion. The Wildcats walked away with an illustrious 2-1 shoot-out victory. The pair battled for a spot in the conference tournament scheduled for Friday, Nov. 2 in Lynchburg, Va. Villanova will take its first trip to the BIG EAST tournament since 2015 when they faced Temple in the semifinals. To end conference play the Wildcats improved to 4-3 and 9-8 overall while the Monarchs fell to 3-4 in the conference and 10-6 overall.

"We're extremely proud of our team and how they never stopped working and believing," coach Joanie Milhous said.

The game started off on the right note for Old Dominion early in the competition. Alexandria Brewer crossed the ball into the circle where she received a goal from the deflection of a Villanova defender. Brewer's goal gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead to start the competition.

The rest of the half remained scoreless while Villanova was tested on the defensive end. Old Dominion kept the pressure high, getting off nine shots and four corners in the first. At the 35-minute mark VU had only tallied three shots and one corner.

Erika Miller played a huge roll in preventing the Monarchs from grabbing another goal. After two back-to-back close-range shot attempts Miller recorded two big saves, a total of three in the first.

To start the second half, Old Dominion put Lacey Frazier in the net replacing Kealsie Robles. The Monarchs quickly dominated the Wildcats as they had in the first half, earning two penalty corners. The home team was able to fire off two shots on goal, both of which were saved by Miller.

With 11 minutes remaining Villanova earned a penalty corner and received their first shot opportunity of the half. On the insert from Christen Pennington, Lydia Sydnor set Abby Siana up with a shot that found its way around Frazier in the net. Siana's goal was her sixth of the season and tied the game up 1-1 with less than 10 minutes to go.

At this point, Old Dominion increased its offensive pressure putting a heavy weight on the Villanova defense late in the game. The Wildcats held off back-to-back penalty corners and shots from the Monarchs but could not secure a goal of their own, forcing things into overtime.

Villanova and Old Dominion battled through two overtime periods to end up in a shoot-out. ODU undoubtedly dominated VU offensively throughout the entirety of the contest. To end regulation the Monarchs led the 'Cats 26-7 in shots and 19-4 in penalty corners.

After the first set of shoot-outs the teams were tied again and had to enter a second round of shots. Abby Siana was last to score a goal for the Wildcats giving them the advantage. Jess Miller stepped up after Siana to attempt a shot for ODU to help keep them in the race. Miller could not get her shot past Erika Miller in the net which finalized Villanova's thrilling victory.

In the net, Miller showed fantastic effort. She recorded nine of the team's 10 saves and recorded back-to-back saves numerous times to keep the Wildcats afloat.

"Erika Miller had an amazing game," Milhous said of her senior goalie. "We are so excited to be back at the BIG EAST Tournament."

Villanova returns for its last regular season game of the year Sunday, Oct. 28 at 12 p.m. The Wildcats host Brown in Conshohocken, Pa. for senior day. The game will be broadcast on Nova Nation All-Access and the senior day recognition will begin prior to the start of the contest.