van de Kerkhof Earns Win No. 150 as Field Hockey Tops No. 18-Ranked ODU

Sunday, August 27

Norfolk, VA

12 PM

University of Delaware

(1-1)

Old Dominion University

(0-1)

DEL

ODUFH

van de Kerkhof Earns Win No. 150 as Field Hockey Tops No. 18-Ranked ODU

8/27/2023 2:38:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The University of Delaware field hockey team earned its first win of the 2023 campaign Sunday afternoon as the Blue Hens topped preseason No. 18 ODU 4-2. With the win, head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof became Delaware's third field hockey coach to reach the 150 win mark.

COACH'S QUOTE
"Our hard fought and earned win is a result of true team play and hustle," said van de Kerkhof. "It was clear all during preseason that we have a special players group and it seemed Friday's game was still needed to fine tune some of our offensive and defensive performance and connections. Today's performance shows the potential this team has and it will be a lot of fun for us all together to further develop and improve our Delaware Hockey in weeks to come."

"On winning 150 games as a Blue Hen coach, I want to thank my team and staff today as well as previous Delaware teams and staffs for allowing me to get to this point since my arrival in Newark in 2011," said van de Kerkhof on his milestone win. "Although I never got into coaching to reach these milestones, earning 150 wins as a program became reality thanks to welcoming and working with amazing and self-driven players, coaches and staff throughout the years that wanted to be the best they could be each game and season."

HENS HIGHLIGHTS

Genevieve Johnson put the Hens on the board with her first goal of the season on an assist from freshman Elen Nicholls.
Morgan Bradford scored her first of the year on an assist from freshman Olivia Schmincke
Kiki Oudshoorn scored twice on three shots on goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

With less than a minute to play in the second quarter, an ODU green card led to a Hens corner. Nicholls inserted the ball to Johnson whose shot ricocheted off a Monarchs defender and into the back of the ODU cage to put UD up 1-0 at the break.
In the third, Schmincke recovered her own rebounded shot off the ODU keeper as she shuffled a pass to an open Bradford who finished the play with Delaware's second goal of the contest.
In the fourth, Oudshoorn knocked in an unassisted goal at the 47:04 mark, but 40 seconds later, the Monarchs found the back of the UD cage to cut the Hens lead to 3-1.
The 18th-ranked Monarchs made it interesting down the stretch as a goal from Sanci Molkenboer made it a one-goal game with less than nine minutes to play
Oudshoorn gave the Blue & Gold an insurance goal at the 53:22 mark to put the game on ice and secure Delaware's first win of the year.

GAME NOTES

Kylie Walbert tallied 10 saves and allowed just two goals on the day.
The Hens were efficient on the day as the offense took nine shots with five on frame and four finding the back of the cage.

UP NEXT
Delaware makes its 2023 home debut on Friday, Sept. 1 as the Blue & Gold host Villanova at Fred P. Rullo Stadium at 5 p.m.

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