TOWSON, Md. – Senior defender Melissa Gomes and freshman forward Emily Banes each scored a goal in the first half as the Tigers (5-4-2, 1-1-0) earned their second win in the last three games, a 2-1 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Old Dominion University (2-5-1, 0-2-0) at the Towson Center Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.

“I thought our girls stepped up and played well today,” Towson Coach Greg Paynter said. “We talked about needing to play a full 90 minutes and I think we did that today. ODU came out in the second half and pressured our defense. We had a 'bend but don't break' type of mentality today and it worked out.”

Just over 15 minutes into the first half, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead when Gomes scored her third goal of the season. After Old Dominion was called for a foul, Gomes took the restart and fired a shot from 25 yards out that sailed over sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Alvarado and slipped under the crossbar.

But, the Lady Monarchs quickly responded when junior midfielder Jocelyn Weidner scored her third goal of the season off an assist from freshman forward Kate Kelly.

The Tigers regained the one-goal edge in the 25th minute when Banes headed home her second goal of the year off a crossing pass from sophomore forward Cheyenne Skidmore.

Led by junior goalkeeper Jocelyn Papciak, the Tiger defense kept Old Dominion from scoring the tying goal as the Lady Monarchs outshot Towson by a 13-6 margin in the second half.

Papciak, who ranks second in the CAA with a 0.95 goals against average, made a season-high 10 saves for the Tigers, who were outshot by a 22-13 margin.

“Jocelyn did a great job today,” Coach Paynter said. “She made ten saves and several of them were of the 'circus' variety. She was out there to make the tough save and you need that in order to win the tough games in this conference.”

Alvarado made three saves in a losing effort for Old Dominion, which has lost four straight games after a 2-1-1 start.

The win allowed the Tigers to remain unbeaten in Sunday games with a 4-0-0 record.

“It's a credit to our bench and to the depth of our team,” Coach Paynter said. “Sunday games are always a battle of attrition and it is hard for these athletes to play on Friday evening and then come back to play again less than 48 hours later.”

The Tigers will finish their three-game homestand on Thursday afternoon when they play against James Madison University at 4 p.m. The Dukes, who were picked to win the CAA title in the preseason coaches' poll, earned a 3-1 victory over Northeastern on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Lady Monarchs will visit UNC Wilmington on Thursday evening.

College Women's Soccer: Towson University 2, Old Dominion University 1
Old Dominion (2-5-1, 0-2-0)  1-0 / 1
Towson (5-4-2, 1-1-0)  2-0 / 2

Goals: ODU – Jocelyn Weidner 1 (16:54); TOW – Melissa Gomes 1 (15:04), Emily Banes 1 (24:24). Assists: ODU – Kate Kelly 1; TOW – Cheyenne Skidmore 1. Saves: ODU – Brianna Alvarado 3 (90:00, 2 goals allowed); TOW – Jocelyn Papciak 10 (90:00, 1 goals allowed), TEAM 1. Shots: ODU – 22; TOW – 13. Corner Kicks: ODU – 7; TOW – 4. Attendance: 204.

TIGER TIDBITS: All 11 of the Tigers' games this season have been decided by a goal or less … The Tigers scored the game's first goal for the sixth time this season … Four of the Tigers' five wins this season have come on Sundays … Nine of the ten games in the all-time series between the Tigers and the Lady Monarchs have been decided by a goal or less … Towson now leads the all-time series by a 6-3-1 margin … Banes has either scored a goal or recorded an assist in each of the Tigers' last three games … Skidmore has tallied five points in the last three games, scoring two goals with an assist … Papciak recorded the second double-digit save effort of her career … She also had a 13-save effort against William & Mary as a freshman in 2008 … The 22 shots taken by Old Dominion marked the highest total by a Tiger opponent this season.