University of Delaware Athletics
No. 15 Blue Hens Vie for CAA Championship Three-Peat; Face Hofstra Friday
11/4/2015 1:09:00 PM | Field Hockey
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The reigning back-to-back CAA Champion Delaware field hockey team looks for its third straight and fifth overall title this weekend as James Madison University hosts the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at JMU Field Hockey Complex.
The second-seeded Blue Hens (14-5, 4-2 CAA) will face third-seeded Hofstra (14-5, 4-2 CAA) in the semifinals, which is slated to begin at approximately 5:45 p.m. Friday.
The top-seeded Dukes (13-5, 6-0 CAA) will take on fourth-seeded Drexel (8-10, 4-2 CAA) prior to the UD game with a game time of 3 p.m.
The CAA title game takes place Sunday at 2 p.m. with the victors from Friday's semifinal contests competing for the league's trophy and automatic bid to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
BROADCAST
Video/audio for all contests this weekend will be carried live, for free and in high definition, on CAA.tv.
LIVE STATS
· Friday vs. Hofstra
ONLINE
Follow Delaware field hockey online at facebook.com/DelawareFieldHockey and on Twitter at @DelawareFH. Additional weekend coverage will be available by using the official CAA Championships hashtag, #CAAChamps on both Instagram and Twitter.
LAST TIME OUT
On the brink of ending its season, Delaware battled the entire game and eventually came out on top in Sunday's 4-3 decision at Northeastern. With the win, the No. 14 Blue Hens (14-5, 4-2 CAA) clinched a berth into the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament for the fifth straight year. Greta Nauck led Delaware with five points on two goals and one assist while Michaela Patzner tallied a goal and assist of her own. The day's most crucial goal, however, came in the 59th minute and was the game-winner from Taylor Lister, who created her own goal on the right side after a breakaway from the midfield line. Emmeline Oltmans (Baarn, The Netherlands/Het Baarnsch Lyceum) collected two saves in the victory.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· The reigning back-to-back Champion Blue Hens have reached the CAA Tournament for the fifth straight season and sixth time in seven years.
· Delaware is 10-5 all-time, with a 5-2 mark in the semifinals round, in the CAA Tournament.
· The Hens have the best winning percentage (.667) in the CAA Tournament amongst all active league schools.
· No. 15 UD has been ranked in the NFHCA Top 20 in each week since September 8 and are No. 16 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI.
· The Blue Hens are currently ranked fifth nationally with 3.79 goals per game and 12th with a scoring margin of 1.61. They are also fifth in points per game (10.47), ninth in assists per game (2.89) and 10th with 9.0 defensive saves.
· Delaware has reached the 14-win mark for the 12th time in program history and fifth since 2003.
· The Hens have outscored opponents 72-41 on the year.
· Greta Nauck has earned CAA Rookie of the Week accolades in two straight weeks. In the past four games, she has tallied 12 points on five goals and two assists.
· Haley Stanko will celebrate her 19th birthday on Saturday.
· Michaela Patzner is third in school history with 118 points (45g, 28a). Sharon Wilkie (1979-82) is second all-time with 123 points on 59 goals and five assists.
· Patzner's 45 goals are good for fifth all-time while Carol Miller (1978-81) is fourth with 46 career goals.
· With an assist at Drexel, Esmée Peet now has 85 career points on 35 goals and 15 assists to sit alone in 12th place in the career record books. Juli Byrd (1998-01) is 11th all-time with 89 career points (39g, 11a).
· Allie Mikelson holds the school record with 16 career defensive saves.
SERIES INFORMATION
· The Blue Hens hold a 23-7 advantage over the Pride since the first meeting in 1985.
· Delaware has won five of the last seven against Hofstra, including a 4-2 victory on Oct. 9 in Hempstead, N.Y. In the last meeting, Esmée Peet collected two goals as the No. 13 Hens put a halt to Hofstra's eight-game winning streak.
· The two teams are 1-1 against each other all-time in CAA Tournament history.
· In the most recent postseason matchup, the No. 18 Pride defeated the Hens, 2-1, on Nov. 1, 2006, in the quarterfinals.
· Delaware picked up the 5-1 win over Hofstra to clinch the 2004 title at William & Mary's Busch Field.
· A former player and current coach for the United States National Field Hockey program, Kathy De Angelis (UMass '92) is in her 18th year as the head coach at Hofstra. De Angelis has led the Pride to winning records in 10 of the past 14 seasons and currently holds a career mark of 179-174 (.507).
ABOUT HOFSTRA
The Pride (14-5, 3-2 CAA) had a four-game winning streak stopped in the regular season finale loss at JMU by a score of 8-1 Sunday. With the loss, Hofstra finished in a three-way tie for second with Delaware and Drexel, but received the third seed due to this season's loss to the Hens in early October. Claudia Marin Samper picked up the team's lone goal against the Dukes while Lauren Saltus picked up six saves for the Pride. A tremendous offensive threat, Hofstra is fourth nationally with 10.63 points per game, fifth with 3.79 goals per game and sixth with 3.05 assists per. Marin Samper currently leads the CAA and is fourth nationally with 2.84 points (54 total) and 0.84 assists (16) per game. She is also fifth with 1.0 goals (19) per contest. Stella Schoen is second in the CAA and 15th in the NCAA with 2.05 points per game on 39 points (16g, 7a) while her sister, Simca Schoen, is third in the CAA with 32 points (15g, 2a). Carys Swan has allowed 2.29 goals per game with 61 saves and a .670 save percentage in 14 games while Saltus has allowed 2.39 goals per game with 16 saves and a .533 save percentage in six games.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Maggie Hayon | mhayon@udel.edu | O: 302-831-6389 | C: 920-912-6635
