University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Field Hockey Seeks Back-to-Back CAA Championships; Face William & Mary Friday in Semifinals
11/6/2014 11:34:00 AM | Field Hockey
DEDHAM, Mass. – The reigning CAA Champion University of Delaware field hockey team looks for its second straight title this weekend as Northeastern University hosts the 2014 Colonial Athletic Association Field Hockey Tournament at Dedham Field.
The second-seeded Blue Hens (11-8, 4-2 CAA) look for their fourth overall CAA title and will face third-seeded William & Mary (8-10, 4-2 CAA) for the third consecutive season in the CAA semifinals, to be played at approximately 5 p.m. Friday.
Top-seeded Northeastern (14-4, 5-1 CAA) hosts the four seed in James Madison (11-7, 3-3 CAA) prior to the UD game with a slated game time for 1 p.m.
Sunday's championship game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
ADMISSION
General admission for the 2014 CAA Field Hockey Championships is free.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via www.BlueHens.com and www.CAASports.com.
LIVE STREAMING
Video/audio for all contests this weekend will be carried live for free in high definition on CAA.tv and CAA's iPad app. A free login will be required to view the games via CAA.tv on a computer or using the CAA's iPad app.
ONLINE
Follow Delaware field hockey online at facebook.com/DelawareFieldHockey and on Twitter at @DelawareFH. For live updates over the weekend, follow @CAASports on Twitter and use the official league championships hashtag - #CAAChamps.
LAST TIME OUT
The Blue Hens dominated in all offensive statistical categories last Sunday, but Drexel came out on top in the 1-0 overtime game to finish regular season action. The loss stripped Delaware from winning the CAA regular season title and the chance at hosting the league's postseason tournament. UD had plenty of opportunities to get on the scoreboard after collecting 10 penalty corners, but was never able to capitalize on the breaks.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· Delaware is 8-5 all-time in the CAA Tournament.
· The Hens have the best winning percentage (.615) in the CAA Tournament amongst all active league schools.
· Delaware has reached the 11-win mark for the 23rd time in program history and fifth since 2001.
· The Blue Hens are 3-2 in overtime games this season.
· UD is 7-3 in games decided by just one-goal this year.
· Junior Allie Mikelson (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) is currently ranked second nationally with a school-record 10 defensive saves.
· As a team, the Blue Hens are third in the NCAA with 12 defensive saves, the most for the program since 2000.
· Michaela Patzner (Rosenheim, Germany/Karolinen Gymnasium) continues to lead the Hens with 29 points on 10 goals and a team-best nine assists. The junior is 11th all-time in the career record books with 86 points (33g, 20a). Juli Byrd (1998-01) is 10thwith 89 points (39g, 11a).
· Patzner is also tied for seventh in school history alongside current assistant coach Missy Woodie (2007-10) and Rachel Barger (1996-99) with 20 career assists.
· Patzner's nine assists this season is also good to tie for eighth with Sue Daddona (1994) and Sue Samuel (1980) in single-season history.
· The Blue Hens have had 12 players tally at least one point this season.
· Freshman Emmeline Oltmans (Baarn, The Netherlands/Het Baarnsch Lyceum) has seen action in 1,126:58 minutes this season and tallied 63 saves (.630) with 2.30 goals allowed per game.
SERIES INFORMATION
· A re-match of the last two seasons' CAA semifinals, UD owns the advantage in the all-time series between the Hens and Tribe at 11-8. Delaware has won four straight against the Tribe by a combined score of 16-5.
· In an Oct. 5 matchup in Williamsburg, Delaware sophomore Meghan Winesett (Centreville, Va./Westfield) collected her first career hat trick en route to a 5-3 Blue Hens victory over W&M.
· Tess Ellis is in her 19th season as a William & Mary coach, but just her second as the head coach after previously serving as an assistant and associate head coach.
ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe (8-10, 4-2 CAA) earned the third seed in the CAA Tournament after a 4-2 loss in the regular season finale to Northeastern. A win would have given William & Mary the top spot and the privilege of hosting the postseason championships. The Blue Hens earned the second seed due to head-to-head matchup with the Tribe. Junior Pippin Saunders is the team-leader in points (21) and goals (nine) while senior Emma Clifton has posted 20 points on six goals and a team-best eight assists. Junior Meredith Savage has played all 1272:10 minutes in the cage for W&M and has collected 72 saves while giving up 2.86 goals per game.
