University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Hofstra
Blue Hens Down Hofstra 2-1, Take Over Sole Possession of First Place in CAA
9/25/2016 4:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer
• Boxscore
NEWARK, Del. -- The Blue Hen women's soccer team is on a roll.
Delaware (3-8, 2-0 CAA) capped a perfect weekend Sunday afternoon as the Blue Hens scored two goals in the first 34 minutes of the game and held on the rest of the way to move into sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with a 2-1 victory over Hofstra at Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium.
After grinding through a 1-8 non-league slate, the Blue Hens' fortunes took off this weekend as they opened CAA play with Friday's 2-1 overtime win over Northeastern and followed with Sunday's identical 2-1 
victory over the Pride to extend their win streak to two games.
Delaware senior Madison Brosler (at left), the hero of Friday night's win with her goal in overtime, scored for the second straight game and senior Natalie Zelenky's team-high third goal of the season with 10:30 left in the first half proved to be the game-winner.
Hofstra (6-4-1, 0-2 CAA), a CAA Tournament semifinalist a year ago, dropped its second straight game after falling to Drexel 3-0 in their CAA opener Friday night.
Delaware banged out a season-high 15 shots for the second straight game and put 11 of them on goal as the Hens tested Hofstra goalkeepers Ashley Wilson and Friederike Mehring throughout the game. The Hens also held a huge 10-1 advantage in corner kicks, their second highest total of the season.
Brosler gave the Hens a quick lead just 14:57 into the contest when she scored from three yards out
after taking a feed from Nikki Adams, who collected a corner kick from Mikala Kin and made the short pass. The Hens upped the lead to 2-0 just 20 minutes later as Zelenky, a three-time All-CAA forward, stole the ball from a Hofstra defender, dribbled past Wilson, and scored on the open net from 15 yards out.
The goal was Zelenky's third of the season, her 22nd career tally, and was the eighth game-winner of her career. She had a game and season-high six shots, including five on goal.
“We had a tough preseason,” said Zelenky. “But winning these two games gives us a lot of confidence and motivation moving forward. I think we are all really confident moving into the rest of the season. We were able to pressure them (Hofstra) today and take advantage of their mistakes.”
Hofstra didn't give up and cut the halftime lead to 2-1 when Jill Mulholland, the CAA leader in goals, points, and shots, finally got free and scored her eighth goal of the year from five yards out off a pass from Jamie Delaney with 3:22 left in the period.
Although both teams had strong scoring opportunities in the second half, neither team could convert, giving the Hens the victory. Hofstra backup goalkeeper Friederike Mehring came up with several big stops and had six saves for the half.
“We've really turned it on conference play,” said Rekos (at right), who upper her career saves total to 165 to move into No. 7 on the UD career list. “We have finally come together as a team. Those (non-league) losses were bad, but they really showed us what we needed to work on and what we needed to fix.”
HEN SCRATCHINGS
• Delaware scored two goals in a half for the first time since scoring twice in the opening stanza of the season opener vs. Villanova
• Delaware is off to a 2-0 start in league play for the second time in three seasons and will look to start out 3-0 for the first time in school history when the Hens return to action Sept. 30 at Towson
• The Hens snapped a four-game losing streak to Hofstra and downed the Pride for the first time since 2011
• The Blue Hens have held a share of the halftime lead 8 times in 11 games this season
AGATE:
Delaware.......2.......0.......2
Hofstra...........1.......0.......1
Scoring Summary: 1st Half - Delaware - Madison Brosler (Nikki Adams, Mikala Kin), 14:57 into game; Delaware - Natalie Zelenky (unassisted), 34:30; Hofstra - Jill Mulholland (Jamie Delaney), 41:28; 2nd Half - No Scoring; Shots: H - 9, D - 15; Corner Kicks: H - 1, D - 10; Saves; H - 9 (Ashley Wilson, 45 min., 2 goals, 3 saves; Friederike Mehring, 45 min., 0 goals, 6 saves), D - 4 (Kailyn Rekos); Fouls: H - 7, D - 10; Attendance: 270.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
