University of Delaware Athletics
Back-to-Back CAA Champion Blue Hens Open League Play vs. W&M and No. 19 JMU
10/1/2015 4:35:00 PM | Field Hockey
NEWARK, Del. – The two-time reigning CAA Champion and No. 13 Blue Hens welcome William & Mary and James Madison to Fred P. Rullo Stadium this weekend to open league play for the 2015 season.
Delaware will face William & Mary Friday at 7 p.m. before a rematch of the 2014 CAA Championship will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. as the Blue Hens take on the No. 19 Dukes.
ADMISSION 👍
Admission is free and open to the public for all home regular season Delaware field hockey games held at Fred P. Rullo Stadium.
HALL OF FAME WEEKEND 🏆
Prior to Sunday's game, the Blue Hens will honor the program's most recent inductee into the Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame, Leah Geib Maceroli '05 '07M. Geib Maceroli is one of 10 Blue Hens that will be honored Friday evening as a part of the 19th Athletics Hall of Fame Class. To read more about Leah, please click here. In addition to Geib Maceroli, more than 20 field hockey alumni from 1972 through 2015 will also be in attendance at Sunday's game.
SUNDAY LIVE BROADCAST 🎥
Fans unable to make it to Sunday's game in person can watch the match versus No. 19 James Madison online, for free, via Hens All-Access. A full rebroadcast of the game will be available on Delaware's YouTube page within 24 hours of completion of the contest.
LIVE STATS 📈
· Friday vs. William & Mary
· Sunday vs. No. 19 James Madison
· Christy Morgan (Old Dominion '85) is in her second consecutive season and 11th overall with the Dukes. During her 11-year tenure at JMU, Morgan has posted a record of 151-77-2 (.661).
· Tess Ellis is in her 20th year as a coach at William & Mary and her third as head coach after being promoted just prior to the 2013 season.
ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe have lost three straight and five of their last six for an overall record of 4-6. W&M had three players recognized in the CAA Preseason Poll while the team was predicted to finish fourth in the conference standings. Senior Pippin Saunders and sophomore Emma MacLeod earned preseason honors while sophomore Erin Menges was an honorable mention selection. Saunders is the team leader with 19 points on eight goals and three assists while Menges has tallied a team-best six assists to go along with three goals for 12 points. Meredith Savage has seen all the time between the pipes for the Tribe and has allowed 2.80 goals per game with 44 saves.
ABOUT NO. 19 JAMES MADISON
The Dukes are 6-3 on the year and kick off CAA action Friday at Towson. JMU was picked to finish second in the league's preseason coaches poll and received 30 points to Delaware's 33. Senior defender Loes Stijntjes and redshirt senior midfielder Taylor West were both voted to the Preseason All-CAA squad. James Madison has lost two of its last three games, both of which came against Top 15 opponents in No. 9 Louisville and No. 15 Old Dominion. As a team, Madison is third nationally, behind UConn and Delaware, with 4.11 goals per game and fifth with 10.89 points per contest. Stijntjes leads the Dukes with 20 points (8g, 4a) and is ranked 12th nationally with 2.22 points per game and 18th overall with 0.89 goals per game. Sophomore goalie Sara Kraeutler has played all 627:15 minutes in the cage for JMU and has allowed 2.46 goals per game with a .690 save percentage.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Maggie Hayon | mhayon@udel.edu | O: 302-831-6389 | C: 920-912-6635
