No. 17 Delaware Blanks No. 18 Old Dominion in Season Opener, 4-0

Friday, August 27

Norfolk, VA

11:00 a.m.

University of Delaware

(1-0)

Old Dominion University

(0-1)

Delaware

Old Dominion

Photo by: Mark Campbell

No. 17 Delaware Blanks No. 18 Old Dominion in Season Opener, 4-0

8/27/2021 1:48:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. - After a scoreless first half, the No. 17 Delaware field hockey team scored four goals in the second half to blank No.18 Old Dominion, 4-0, in its season opener Friday.

"What a great start to our 2021 season! A big compliment to this team as they added on their preseason development and growth," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "Today's performance was a true team-effort. Very proud of our players for playing with and for each other all game long. The energy and discipline both on the field and sideline was amazing and allowed for this team to play convincing Delaware hockey."

In the third period, senior Grace Miller scored the first goal of the season for the Blue Hens on a fastbreak with an assist from Femke Strien. This marked Miller's sixth career goal at Delaware.

Just three minutes later Grace Hoepfner scored the second goal of the quarter on a corner, hitting the back of the goal with assists from Ashlyn Carr and Julia Duffhuis.

The Blue Hens ended the period with a goal by sophomore transfer Kiki Oudshoorn, netting her first goal at Delaware.

With less than a minute left in the game, Duffhuis scored the fourth and final goal of the game on another corner. She was assisted by Carr and Berber Bakermans.

Goalkeeper Lizzie Gaebel had four saves in the shutout, facing 11 shots.

"We will enjoy our performance and victory until midnight, and tomorrow will start our preparation for Virginia on Sunday. As a program we want to be the best we can, and competing against two other top 20 teams openings weekend will give us a good indicator as to where we are now and areas to further improve on."

Delaware travels to Charlottesville, Va., for a game against No. 8 Virginia Sunday at 1 p.m.