University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Jeff Fannon
Femke Strien Named CAA Player of the Year; Blue Hens Collect Nine Postseason Honors
11/7/2019 11:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
RICHMOND, Va. – For the fourth straight season, the University of Delaware collected the Colonial Athletic Association's top honor as junior Femke Strien was tabbed the league's Player of the Year.
In total, the Blue Hens received nine CAA postseason honors in a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Strien was joined on the All-CAA First Team by classmates Sophie Giezeman and Emily Kresho and redshirt senior Sydney Rhodes. Second Team honors went to senior Sarah Horgan and freshman Ashlyn Carr while Carr and Kerri McClay were named to the All-Rookie Team.
"Congratulations to all of our student-athletes chosen by the other CAA coaches to represent the Blue Hens with this season's CAA honors," remarked Delaware head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof.
The Hens garnered CAA Player of the Year accolades for the fourth straight season as Greta Nauck earned the honors in 2016 and 2017 while Lotte de Koning captured the award in 2018.
A four-time CAA Player of the Week, Strien is the lone conference player to earn the honor more than once this season. The forward finished the regular season with at least one goal in four straight games and is tied for ninth in Delaware single-season history with 16 goals. In a career season, Strien currently ranks seventh nationally with 0.94 goals per game and eighth with 2.24 goals per.
"From back to forward and from defending to scoring, the story of Femke this season compared to last," Van de Kerkhof stated. "She has done a great job stepping up and taking the lead up front in creating the attack. Aside from contributing to our offensive output, she has become a leader in our first line of defense; our press. I know she isn't done yet scoring for the Blue Hens and we are looking forward to see her add to our scoring output this month."
An All-CAA Second Team honoree a year ago, Kresho has started all 17 games as centerback for the Blue Hens this season. She heads a defensive unit that ranks first in the CAA in shutouts (0.41; fifth NCAA), GAA (1.06; sixth NCAA) and scoring margin (1.71; seventh NCAA).
Rhodes earns CAA honors for the second straight season and leads the league and ranks third nationally with a 0.85 GAA and seventh with an 81.3 win percentage. She's currently third in program history with a 1.35 career GAA, eighth with 23 wins and eighth with 9.7 shutouts. The goalie was named to the NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star game earlier this season.
A first-year member of the Blue Hens, Giezeman is third on the team with 17 points off six goals and five assists. She has also tallied two game-winning goals and has been the inserter on 55 penalty corners.
"I'm very excited for our All-CAA team members," exclaimed Van de Kerkhof. "Sophie made a direct impact on our team performance after transferring from Maryland this past spring. Emily has in just two years developed herself into one of the best defenders in all of NCAA Division I field hockey. Sydney's patience of investing three years in her position has paid huge dividends and given her the opportunity to be an impact goalkeeper for the Blue Hens these past two seasons."
Horgan has been a mainstay in the Delaware lineup during her four seasons as she has started all 76 games played in her career. A selection for the NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star game, she is also a key player on the defensive corner team while contributing to UD's 1.06 GAA.
Carr, a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week, is second for the Hens with 20 points on nine goals and two assists. She has also added three game-winning goals in her first season in a Delaware uniform.
"Sarah has always been an extreme hard worker and although lacks statistics, has been a key player for four seasons as a Blue Hen," Van de kerkhof stated. "Credit to her work rate and passion she has for this program and the teams she has been part of that the CAA coaches selected her to receive conference honors as a senior. Ashlyn was willing and able to step up to the challenge of being the team's center-mid for most of the season. It is nice to see her as a former three-time State of Delaware High School Player of the Year continue to be an impact player for her team."
McClay has become a steady force for Delaware in her first year and has started 13 of 17 games, including the past 11, as a left back as well as an offensive penalty corner striker for the Hens.
Van de Kerkhof continued, "I'm proud for the way Ashlyn and Kerri have performed as freshmen of a team that for most of the season had a Top 10 NCAA RPI standing. Their future looks bright and will allow them to have a lot of fun as teammates and with their teams in years to come."
"I would like to thank my coaching and support staff for putting together a fourth straight undefeated CAA season," Van de Kerkhof remarked. "As a staff, we strive to challenge, serve and assist our student-athletes to be the best they can be and they have made us very proud once again. We look forward to coaching them and assisting them of what they are capable of doing, bringing home the CAA Tournament title and represent the University of Delaware again in the NCAA Tournament."
The reigning four-time CAA regular season champion Blue Hens welcome William & Mary, Northeastern and James Madison to Fred P. Rullo Stadium this weekend for the 2019 CAA Field Hockey Championship. Top-seeded Delaware will face the fourth-seeded Dukes at 1 p.m. Friday while the Tribe and Huskies will matchup at 4 p.m. Sunday's championship game will be played at 1 p.m.
Follow Delaware Field Hockey on Twitter at @DelawareFH, on Instagram at @Delaware_FH and on Facebook at Delaware Field Hockey.
In total, the Blue Hens received nine CAA postseason honors in a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Strien was joined on the All-CAA First Team by classmates Sophie Giezeman and Emily Kresho and redshirt senior Sydney Rhodes. Second Team honors went to senior Sarah Horgan and freshman Ashlyn Carr while Carr and Kerri McClay were named to the All-Rookie Team.
"Congratulations to all of our student-athletes chosen by the other CAA coaches to represent the Blue Hens with this season's CAA honors," remarked Delaware head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof.
The Hens garnered CAA Player of the Year accolades for the fourth straight season as Greta Nauck earned the honors in 2016 and 2017 while Lotte de Koning captured the award in 2018.
A four-time CAA Player of the Week, Strien is the lone conference player to earn the honor more than once this season. The forward finished the regular season with at least one goal in four straight games and is tied for ninth in Delaware single-season history with 16 goals. In a career season, Strien currently ranks seventh nationally with 0.94 goals per game and eighth with 2.24 goals per.
"From back to forward and from defending to scoring, the story of Femke this season compared to last," Van de Kerkhof stated. "She has done a great job stepping up and taking the lead up front in creating the attack. Aside from contributing to our offensive output, she has become a leader in our first line of defense; our press. I know she isn't done yet scoring for the Blue Hens and we are looking forward to see her add to our scoring output this month."
An All-CAA Second Team honoree a year ago, Kresho has started all 17 games as centerback for the Blue Hens this season. She heads a defensive unit that ranks first in the CAA in shutouts (0.41; fifth NCAA), GAA (1.06; sixth NCAA) and scoring margin (1.71; seventh NCAA).
Rhodes earns CAA honors for the second straight season and leads the league and ranks third nationally with a 0.85 GAA and seventh with an 81.3 win percentage. She's currently third in program history with a 1.35 career GAA, eighth with 23 wins and eighth with 9.7 shutouts. The goalie was named to the NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star game earlier this season.
A first-year member of the Blue Hens, Giezeman is third on the team with 17 points off six goals and five assists. She has also tallied two game-winning goals and has been the inserter on 55 penalty corners.
"I'm very excited for our All-CAA team members," exclaimed Van de Kerkhof. "Sophie made a direct impact on our team performance after transferring from Maryland this past spring. Emily has in just two years developed herself into one of the best defenders in all of NCAA Division I field hockey. Sydney's patience of investing three years in her position has paid huge dividends and given her the opportunity to be an impact goalkeeper for the Blue Hens these past two seasons."
Horgan has been a mainstay in the Delaware lineup during her four seasons as she has started all 76 games played in her career. A selection for the NFHCA Division I Senior All-Star game, she is also a key player on the defensive corner team while contributing to UD's 1.06 GAA.
Carr, a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week, is second for the Hens with 20 points on nine goals and two assists. She has also added three game-winning goals in her first season in a Delaware uniform.
"Sarah has always been an extreme hard worker and although lacks statistics, has been a key player for four seasons as a Blue Hen," Van de kerkhof stated. "Credit to her work rate and passion she has for this program and the teams she has been part of that the CAA coaches selected her to receive conference honors as a senior. Ashlyn was willing and able to step up to the challenge of being the team's center-mid for most of the season. It is nice to see her as a former three-time State of Delaware High School Player of the Year continue to be an impact player for her team."
McClay has become a steady force for Delaware in her first year and has started 13 of 17 games, including the past 11, as a left back as well as an offensive penalty corner striker for the Hens.
Van de Kerkhof continued, "I'm proud for the way Ashlyn and Kerri have performed as freshmen of a team that for most of the season had a Top 10 NCAA RPI standing. Their future looks bright and will allow them to have a lot of fun as teammates and with their teams in years to come."
"I would like to thank my coaching and support staff for putting together a fourth straight undefeated CAA season," Van de Kerkhof remarked. "As a staff, we strive to challenge, serve and assist our student-athletes to be the best they can be and they have made us very proud once again. We look forward to coaching them and assisting them of what they are capable of doing, bringing home the CAA Tournament title and represent the University of Delaware again in the NCAA Tournament."
The reigning four-time CAA regular season champion Blue Hens welcome William & Mary, Northeastern and James Madison to Fred P. Rullo Stadium this weekend for the 2019 CAA Field Hockey Championship. Top-seeded Delaware will face the fourth-seeded Dukes at 1 p.m. Friday while the Tribe and Huskies will matchup at 4 p.m. Sunday's championship game will be played at 1 p.m.
Follow Delaware Field Hockey on Twitter at @DelawareFH, on Instagram at @Delaware_FH and on Facebook at Delaware Field Hockey.
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