University of Delaware Athletics
No. 15 Hens Eye Three-Peat in CAA Championship Rematch Against No. 16 Dukes
11/7/2015 1:01:00 PM | Field Hockey
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The two-time defending CAA Champion Delaware field hockey team seeks its third straight and fifth overall title Sunday as the No. 15 Blue Hens take on No. 16 James Madison at 2 p.m. at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.
The second-seeded Hens (15-5) cruised past third-seeded Hofstra Pride, 8-1, Friday evening to advance to Sunday's title match while the top-seeded Dukes defeated Drexel, 3-0, in the first game of the day Friday.
Sunday's victor will earn the automatic bid into 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
· Sunday vs. James Madison
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
Once the offense got rolling Friday evening, the Blue Hens could not be stopped as No. 15 Delaware, the two-time defending champions, erupted for an 8-1 win over Hofstra in the CAA semifinals, hosted by James Madison University. Esmée Peet led all scorers with five points on two goals and an assist while Meghan Winesett added two goals of her own. Kayla Devlin and Kiki Bink combined for five assists, all of which came on penalty corner goals. In total, nine Blue Hens tallied at least one point in the victory. Goalie Emmeline Oltmans notched three saves for Delaware while Devlin collected her first career defensive save.
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.
· James Madison was the last CAA team to win three consecutive championships (2006-08).
· Delaware is 11-5 all-time, with a 4-1 mark in the finals game, in the CAA Tournament.
· The Hens have the best winning percentage (.688) in the CAA Tournament amongst all active league schools.
· 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 third nationally with 3.95 goals per game and seventh with a scoring margin of 1.88. They are also third in points per game (11.1), fourth in assists per game (3.1) and eighth with 10.0 defensive saves.
· Delaware has reached the 15-win mark for the seventh time in program history and second time in three years.
· UD's eight goals against Hofstra Friday were the most in a CAA Tournament game since Old Dominion defeated James Madison, 14-1, in semifinals action on Nov. 9, 2002.
· The seven-goal margin of victory was also the most since Old Dominion defeated Northeastern, 7-0, in semifinals play on Nov. 4, 2006.
· The Blue Hens also set new CAA Tournament program records with most goals scored and largest margin of victory while tying the records for most assists and most shots on goal.
· Delaware has won four of its last five games and outscored its opponents, 24-8, during that span. For the season, the Hens have outscored its opponents, 80-42.
· Esmée Peet (most points) and Kayla Devlin (most assists) also set new individual CAA Tournament program records.
· Esmée Peet is now 11th in program history with 90 points (37g, 16a). Her 37 goals are good for 10th all-time while her 16 assists place her in a tie for 16th in the record books.
· With a goal against the Pride, Michaela Patzner now has 120 points (46g, 28a). Sharon Wilkie (1979-82) is second all-time with 123 points (59g, 5a). Patzner's 46 goals move her into a tie for fourth in program history with Carol Miller (1978-81).
· Haley Stanko celebrated her 19th birthday on Saturday.
· Allie Mikelson holds the school record with 16 career defensive saves.
SERIES INFORMATION
· James Madison holds a narrow 10-8 margin over Delaware in the all-time series, which began in 1999.
· The Dukes came away with the 2-1 overtime victory versus the Blue Hens on Oct. 4 at Rullo Stadium. The first half featured a defensive battle, which resulted in a 0-0 halftime score before JMU's Adrienne le Vatte collected the first goal of the game off a penalty corner tip-in in the 44th minute Delaware's Kiki Bink tied the game at 1-apiece in the 54th minute with her first career tally. The 7v7 overtime format appeared to benefit JMU as the Dukes posted four shots to Delaware's zero, including the Taylor West's tip-in game-winner in the 83rd minute.
· Delaware had previously won three straight against JMU.
· The Hens are 2-1 in the CAA Tournament all-time versus the Dukes, including a 2-1 victory last November in the CAA Championship Final.
· The last seven meetings between the two teams have all been decided by one goal (4-3 JMU lead).
· Christy Morgan (Old Dominion '85), the 2015 CAA Coach of the Year, 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 159-79-2 (.667).
ABOUT JAMES MADISON
The No. 16 Dukes (14-5) collected the CAA regular season title after finishing the conference slate with a perfect 6-0 mark. James Madison also swept the major CAA Postseason Awards as Taylor West was chosen as the Player of the Year and was recognized alongside Loes Stijntjes (Defensive Player of the Year), Melissa Wilken (Rookie of the Year) and Christy Morgan (Coach of the Year). JMU blanked fourth-seeded Drexel, 3-0, Friday evening to advance to Sunday's championship game for back-to-back seasons. West, Adrienne le Vatte and Miranda Rigg all notched goals in the win. Sophomore goalie Sara Kraeutler has played all 1336:28 minutes in the cage for JMU and has allowed 1.68 goals per game with a .738 save percentage.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Maggie Hayon | mhayon@udel.edu | O: 302-831-6389 | C: 920-912-6635
