University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Take on Ball St. and Marist this Weekend in Navy Invitational Tournament
9/11/2014 5:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Friday's matchup will be the first meeting between Delaware and Ball St. and only the third time the Blue Hens have faced a Mid-American Conference opponent in program history. Delaware is undefeated against the MAC as the Blue Hens defeated Bowling Green 2-0 in 2004 and played to a 0-0 draw against Kent St. in 2000.
“We are extremely excited to get back on the field and play this weekend,” said University of Delaware head coach Scott Grzenda. “Ball State is a tough team that we will need to play our best against to get a result. We hope to continue to create scoring opportunities and I know the girls will put a few away this weekend.”
Delaware (2-3) is second in the Colonial Athletic Association with 90 shots this season. Sophomore Nikki Adams (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick) leads the Blue Hens with three goals on the year, while Andi Arnold leads the team in assists with three.
One of the contributing factors to the Blue Hens' 2-3 record has been their second half play. Delaware has outscored its opponents 4-1 in the first half, but have been outscored 7-3 in the second half and overtime this season.
Ball St. comes into Friday's game boasting a 2-1-1 record. The Cardinals have scored at least two goals in three of their first four games and sophomores Gabby Veldman and Abbey Fiser lead the team with two goals each on the season.
The Blue Hens will face Marist Sunday in Delaware's second game of the Navy Invitational. The Red Foxes will face the Naval Academy Friday before taking on Delaware.
Sunday's game will be the second meeting all-time between Delaware and Marist. The first meeting between the two programs took place in 1999 with the Blue Hens coming out on top by a 3-1 margin.
Heading into the weekend, Marist is 1-2 with its lone win coming in a road contest against UMass-Lowell.
Offensively, the Red Foxes are led by senior Amanda Epstein who leads Marist with two points this season. Senior goalkeeper Andrea Wicks has nine saves and has allowed four goals in 270 minutes of action.
Delaware is 7-7 all-time against teams that currently reside in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Delaware's game against Ball St. is set to start at 4:00 p.m. Friday and the Marist matchup will take place Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be held at the Naval Academy's Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis, Md.
