University of Delaware Athletics
No. 18 Blue Hens Launch 2014 Campaign With Three Games in The Golden State
8/28/2014 10:11:00 PM | Field Hockey
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware field hockey squad returns to the pitch this weekend as the No. 18 Blue Hens open the 2014 slate with high expectations.
Coming off its first-ever CAA regular season and tournament title in 2013, UD begins the year with a 6 p.m. (ET) contest at No. 12 Stanford Friday on the Pac-12 Network. The Hens follow with matches against Pacific (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET) and Cal (Monday, 2 p.m. ET). All three contests will be played at Stanford's Varsity Turf.
Predicted first in the Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Coaches Poll, Delaware returns seven starters from last year's squad including CAA Preseason Player of the Year in sophomore Esmée Peet (Zeewolde, The Netherlands/RSG Slingerbos), who was also the 2013 CAA Player and Rookie of the Year. Junior Michaela Patzner (Rosenheim, Germany/Karolinen Gymnasium) and sophomore Meghan Winesett (Centreville, Va.; Westfield) also joined Peet on the All-CAA Preseason Team.
BROADCAST
Friday's matchup between the Blue Hens and Cardinal will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. The game will also be available online at http://pac-12.com/network/pac-12-network. Leah Secondo (play-by-play) and Kara Lentz (color analyst) have the call. Neither Saturday nor Monday's game will be available for viewing.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for this weekend's contests will be available via BlueHens.com.
ONLINE
Follow Delaware field hockey online at facebook.com/DelawareFieldHockey and on Twitter at @DelawareFH.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· Delaware is ranked No. 18 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Poll. The last time the Hens were featured in the preseason poll came in 2010 when UD received votes in the rankings. UD finished the 2013 campaign ranked No. 14 in the country.
· This season is the 44th overall in program history. In the previous 43 seasons, the Blue Hens have tallied a composite record of 466-304-39 (.576) and 27 10-plus win seasons.
· With the graduation of Sarah Scher this past spring, Delaware is forced to rely on a freshmen trio in goal this season in Nicole Berger, Emmeline Oltmans and Fran Orella. Scher finished 11th in UD history with 190 career saves and played every single minute during the 2013 slate.
· The Blue Hens have seven starters and 12 overall letterwinners returning from last season. Delaware will also welcome eight newcomers to the squad, including two international players.
· Delaware field hockey is a family affair for the Mikelsons as Allie Mikelson returns for her junior campaign while younger sister Krissy Mikelson is a freshman for the Blue Hens this season.
SERIES INFORMATION
· Delaware is 10-4 against this weekend's three opponents.
· The Blue Hens have won two straight against the Cardinal and lead the all-time series, 3-1. In UD's last game at Stanford, Casey Howard notched two goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Cardinal, which sent Delaware to 3-0 to open the 2005 season.
· UD is 4-1 overall versus Pacific and have won two consecutive against the Tigers. The last time the two teams met, Brooke Simonovich and Melissa LeNoir picked up goals to give the Hens a 2-0 shutout over Pacific in Newark on Oct. 8, 2010.
· Dating to the 1978 season, the Blue Hens hold an all-time record of 3-2 over Cal. The last matchup came on Sept. 20, 2009 as Howard tallied two goals to give the Hens the 2-1 victory at Rullo Stadium.
· Tara Danielson (Masschusetts '94) is in her fifth year as the head coach at Stanford. The Cardinal have made NCAA Tournament appearances in three of the past four years and has remained a fixture in the national rankings for all but one week during her tenure. Stanford has posted a 64-22 overall mark under Danielson, a three-time recipient of the NorPac Coach of the Year honor.
· Pacific head coach Andy Smith kicks off his second season with the Tigers in 2014 after leading the squad to a 5-14 record last year.
· The first All-American player for the Golden Bears, Shellie Onstead (Cal '83) is in her 20th year as the head coach of her alma mater. A six-time NorPac Coach of the Year, Onstead has compiled a 218-135 career record and has led Cal to 11 conference titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
ABOUT STANFORD
The Cardinal were ranked No. 12 in the 2014 NFHCA Preseason Poll and return eight starters and 16 letterwinners from a 2013 squad that claimed its fifth straight NorPac West regular season title while going 16-5 overall. Stanford boasts plenty of experience with 12 upperclassmen, including a strong six-member senior class. The Cardinal will be led by captain Kelsey Harbin, the NorPac West Player of the Year and a two-time All-America selection.
ABOUT PACIFIC
The Tigers open the season Friday with a 9 p.m. contest versus Liberty before facing off against Delaware on Saturday. Pacific finished last season with a record of 5-14 while going 2-4 in the NorPac West. The Tigers roster returns 17 players from last year, including Leah Cofer, Nicole Laskosky and Kyleigh Morrison, who each posted a pair of goals.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA
Before Monday's Labor Day matinee versus the Blue Hens, Cal takes on Fairfield in Friday's lid-lifter. The reigning NorPac West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year return for the Golden Bears (7-12 in 2013) in seniors Lara Kruggel and Courtney Hendrickson. Kruggel was named the Offensive POY for the second consecutive season after leading the Bears in scoring with 15 points despite missing five games due to injury. Hendrickson had a stellar season in goal with a .791 save percentage to lead the Cal defense.
