University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Field Hockey Opens CAA Play with William & Mary and #1 Old Dominion This Weekend
9/29/2011 9:49:00 PM | Field Hockey
NEWARK, Del. -- A new season begins for the University of Delaware field hockey team this weekend as the Blue Hens open their Colonial Athletic Association schedule at Rullo Stadium.
Delaware welcomes William & Mary on Friday at 5 p.m. before taking on No. 1 ranked Old Dominion on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Scouting the University of Delaware Blue Hens (5-5, 0-0):
This weekend marks the end of 10 home games in a 12-game stretch for the Blue Hens. Following this weekend, they will hit the road for five of their final seven contests.
The Hens are coming off a 1-2 week where they sandwiched a pair of losses around a dramatic, come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over Saint Joseph's.
Trailing 4-0 with less than 8:30 left in regulation, Delaware stormed back to shock Saint Joseph's, which was christening a brand new field on campus.
Delaware redshirt freshman Taylor Claybrook started the comeback with her first career goal with 8:29 on the clock. Hannah Pepper scored her first career goal less than three minutes later to make it 4-2. Claybrook notched her second goal of the game at the 66:23 mark, making it a one-goal game. Melissa LeNoir tied it with her first goal of the season with 1:37 remaining. Kelsey McKee completed the comeback with a penalty stroke with 13 second to play.
Most recently, the Hens dropped a 7-1 decision to ACC foe Wake Forest on Sunday. Kasey Prettyman recorded her second goal of the season in the loss.
McKee and Tory Sharpless lead the team with five goals each. McKee as also recorded three assists for a team-high 13 points. Kayla Schweitzer has a team-high four assists on the season.
Noelle Diana has started all 10 games, making 61 stops in over 664 minutes. She carries a 3.16 goals against average.
The Blue Hens were picked to finish fifth in the CAA preseason coaches' poll.
Scouting the College of William & Mary Tribe (6-2, 1-1 CAA):
After defeating No. 20 Northeastern to open the CAA schedule, the Tribe dropped a 4-2 decision to Hofstra at home on Sunday.
Trailing 3-2 with less than 10 minutes to go against the Huskies, William & Mary tied the score off a corner as freshman Emma Clifton blasted a shot into the back of the cage.
With 1:03 left in regulation, redshirt-freshman Jeltje Loomans took a pass from Clifton off another penalty corner, and tallied the game-winning mark for her first collegiate goal.
On Sunday, the Tribe dominated the stat sheet against Hofstra but fell behind early and couldn't recover. William & Mary found itself down 3-0 in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Tribe outshot the Pride, 9-7, in the first half and 21-11 overall, but could only muster to cut the lead to 3-1. Two defensive saves in the second half did not help the Tribe's cause, and a ball above the goalkeeper nearly made it a one-goal game, but it clanked off the crossbar and remained in play.
William & Mary has used 12 different goal scorers this season with Leah Zamesnik and Jesse Ebner leading the way with four each. Brittany Hopkins, Clifton, and Christine Johnson are tied with a team-high three assists apiece.
Camilla Hill has played all but 32:32 in goal for the Tribe, making 34 saves in eight games. She has allowed only 12 goals so far this season, and carries a 1.53 goals against average.
This is the 14th meeting between the two schools, dating back to 1997. The Blue Hens had a four game win-streak over the Tribe snapped last season with a 1-0 loss. William & Mary leads the all-time series, 7-6.
Scouting the #1 Old Dominion University Monarchs (10-0, 1-0 CAA):
Old Dominion easily took care of their first two CAA opponents, defeating Hofstra 5-0 before taking down #20 Northeastern, 6-2, last weekend.
After starting the season as the No. 12 team in the country, the Monarchs jumped to No. 2 after the first two weeks. After staying at No. 2 for two weeks, ODU made the jump up to the top-ranked team in the country after defeating No. 1 North Carolina. This is the second week in a row that the Monarchs have found themselves on top of the national rankings.
ODU boasts one of the toughest schedules in the country, already having played eight ranked opponents, including two No. 1 teams (Maryland and North Carolina), No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 6 Duke. ODU is the only undefeated team left in the nation at the NCAA Division I level.
Even with the tough schedule, they have only been apart of one, one-goal game; a 3-2 overtime victory over Duke.
Junior forward Maartke van Rijswijk is the reigning CAA Player of the Week, continuing the streak of a Lady Monarch winning or sharing the award all five weeks. She tallied three assists against Hofstra and picked up two goals over Northeastern.
Emma Batten leads the team, and ranks fifth in the country, scoring 12 goals (1.2 per game). She also has two assists for 26 points. Kelsey Smither has recorded seven assists to lead the team.
Devon Seifert has played every minute in goal for the Monarchs, making 18 stops. She has recorded three shutouts on the season while giving up only 10 goals. She boasts the fourth best goals against average in the nations (0.97).
As a team, ODU is also fourth in scoring margin, scoring 2.71 more goals a game then its opponents.
This will be the 13th meeting between the two programs, dating back to 1981. ODU holds a 9-2-1 series advantage, including a 6-0 victory last season.
