Blue Hens Advance to Ninth Straight CAA Field Hockey Championship

Friday, November 5

Newark, DE

4 p.m.

University of Delaware

(11-8(5-1))

William & Mary

(3-13(3-3))

Delaware

FH team celebration after Ashley Iannuzzi goal in CAA Semi against W&M

Photo by: Mark Campbell

Blue Hens Advance to Ninth Straight CAA Field Hockey Championship

11/5/2021 7:38:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. - The No. 2 seeded Delaware field hockey team defeated No. 3 William & Mary, 3-1, in the CAA Semifinals Friday night to advance to its ninth straight CAA Championship.

"A great team performance today and probably our best game so far this season," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "We were relentless and for other than two minutes choose to lead and dominate the play and stat categories. Although we didn't convert on some of the opportunities we had in the second half, it didn't change our focus and we kept on coming in both the third and fourth quarters. I think it is important to also compliment W&M goalkeepers as they prevented us from scoring more goals which would have allowed us to put the game away."

With high-energy buzzing through almost 500 fans at Fred P. Rullo Stadium, the Blue Hens got on the board early, scoring in the first two minutes of the game. Fifth-year senior Femke Strien stripped the ball from William & Mary sending a cross to Morgan Rigual who tipped the ball into the back of the net.

In the 11th minute of the second period, it was Rigual once again just in front of the cage, tipping in a pass from Kiki Oudshoorn, giving the Blue Hens a 2-0 lead. This is the third time this season Rigual has scored a career-high two goals in one game. Rigual now has 15 points on the season on seven goals and one assist.

Two minutes later, Ashley Iannuzzi scored the third-straight goal for Delaware on the rebound of a shot by Oudshoorn, stretching the lead to three and getting the fans up on their feet.

With under a minute remaining in the first half, the Tribe's Amber Bode scored on a penalty corner to make the score, 3-1.

Both teams remained scoreless in the second half, with Delaware taking 11 shots to William & Mary's one. The Blue Hens outshot the Tribe 21-3, taking 14 shots on goal. Julia Duffhuis led the way with five shots, three of which were on goal.

William & Mary had 11 saves to Delaware's two, seven of which came in the second half. The Blue Hens had a 8-2 advantage in penalty corners.

"As a coaching staff we are very proud of our players group for executing the game plan, sharing the ball and the joy of playing together as one. Today's win is a true team earned and deserved victory. It is nice to see Rigual and A. Iannuzzi being our goal scorers and it shows that we continue to add depth to our scoring abilities. This team has gotten better the past couple of weeks, we have learned a lot about ourselves and have been able to improve and become more consistent. We are excited to compete for the CAA Tournament Champions this weekend."

The Blue & Gold is on the hunt for its third-straight CAA title, and eighth in nine seasons. Delaware hosts James Madison at 1 p.m. for the CAA Championship on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Rullo Stadium.

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.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH VAN DE KERKHOF
"As a program we would like to thank all our fellow Blue Hen student-athletes, coaches, and colleagues for coming out to this game and together with our Delaware Hockey Family and many other program friends and fans pack Rullo Stadium. It was an amazing atmosphere to compete in the semifinal with so much support. Thank you Blue Hens!! Hope to welcome many of you back for another packed Rullo and an opportunity for the Blue Hens to compete for a championship and ticket to the NCAA on Sunday!!" -- Head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof