No. 17 Delaware Falls to No. 1 Rutgers in NCAA First Round

Friday, November 12

Piscataway, NJ

11 a.m.

University of Delaware

(13-9)

Rutgers

(19-3)

DELAWARE

Rutgers

Photo by: Mark Campbell

No. 17 Delaware Falls to No. 1 Rutgers in NCAA First Round

11/12/2021 3:13:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The No. 17 Blue Hens (13-9) fell to No. 1 Rutgers (19-3) Friday afternoon in the First Round of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Tournament.

"So proud of my team! They played so well together the entire game," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "They showed they can play with any team in the country if they believe in themselves and take care of one play at the time, one quarter and ultimately the entire game. Not only did we compete with the No. 1 team in the country, we had opportunities to win but struggled a bit on converting in front of Rutgers goal-cage."

On a miserable rainy morning, the game got off to a slow start with the first period ending scoreless. The Scarlet Knights took two shots and had one penalty corner in the first period.

In the second minute of the second quarter, Rutgers' Liz Romano scored on a corner after receiving a pass from Mil Redlingshoefer to give the Scarlet Knights a one-goal lead.

At the end of the first half the Blue Hens took two shots and had one penalty corner. The third period went scoreless like the first, with Delaware taking three shots to Rutgers' one.

In the eighth minute of the final period, the Scarlet Knights made it a 2-0 game with Lucy Bannatyne scoring on a corner with an assist from Redlingshoefer once again.

With under a minute left on the clock, Grace Hoepfner tipped in a shot from Julia Duffhuis on a corner to make the score, 2-1. Delaware took a total of six shots in the second half, to Rutgers' four, but was unable to make a comeback.

The Blue Hens put high pressure on Rutgers the entire game, with the No. 1 seed's only goals coming from penalty corners. Goalkeeper Lizzie Gaebel had two saves on the day. Delaware took a total of eight shots, five on goal, with Rutgers only taking seven shots, four of which were on goal.

"Today's final score may have ended our season, but in the coming days we will be able to look back on the amazing accomplishments of our student-athletes all throughout 2021. We can be very proud of this program for winning back-to-back CAA Tournament Championships and representing our university in a first class matter in the NCAA Tournament."

Delaware is now 9-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 2-7 in First Round games.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH VAN DE KERKHOF
"This team improved so much throughout the season. They came closer together as players, teammates and people. As we got better, we also faced more health challenges and our team could have stopped believing and pursuing their goals, but did the opposite. The additional sacrifices they made and increased commitment to themselves and each other allowed them to bring pride to our Blue Hen program and the University of Delaware. I would like to thank our seniors; Femke Strien, Grace Miller, Hoepfner, Gaebel, Ashley Iannuzzi and Sarah Iannuzzi; for their increased contribution to their team success this fall. I also want to thank my support staff and coaches for the endless hours they have given the players group and our program all throughout the fall. And last but not least a shout out to our University of Delaware Field Hockey Family, Friends and Fans." -- head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof

For the latest on the Delaware field hockey program, follow the Blue Hens on Twitter @DelawareFH and Instagram @Delaware_FH and like "Delaware Field Hockey" on Facebook.