University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
(3-5)
Fairfield
(4-5)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Delaware | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Field Hockey Scores Twice in the Fourth Quarter to Defeat Fairfield 3-2
9/27/2026 3:17:00 PM | Field Hockey
PHILADELPHIA - University of Delaware field hockey defeated Fairfield 3-2 at Ellen Vagelos Field in Philadelphia, Pa., in a neutral-site match on Saturday. The Fightin' Blue Hens improve to 3-5 on the year.
Delaware scored two goals over the course of six minutes in the fourth quarter to take the win, with Linde van Leeuwen scoring on a penalty corner with 5:15 left in the final frame.
Josefina D'Alessandro and Saar de Boer scored their first-collegiate goals in the victory.
HEN HIGHLIGHTS
- D'Alessandro, de Boer, and van Leeuwen all scored for Delaware, with van Leeuwen netting the game-winning goal.
- Kate Fiest dished out two assists. She now has five assists on the year, all coming across her last four games.
- Alexa Michielsen and Avary Miller also assisted on goals. Michielsen leads the MPSF with eight points on the year.
- Jane Baldy made her first-career start in the cage for Delaware, recording three saves.
- Delaware scored on three of its five penalty corner opportunities.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Five minutes into the game, Fairfield got on the board with a goal on a penalty corner.
- Delaware answered back with D'Alessandro scoring on a corner attempt for her first-career goal.
- The Blue & Gold scored the next goal with a corner sent out to Michielsen that was shot, then redirected by de Boer in just her second-collegiate game.
- Five minutes later, with six minutes left in the contest, the Stags scored to tie the game at two. Newark, Del., native Alice Pifferi netted the equalizer.
- With 5:15 remaining, UD struck back on a corner attempt, let up by Fairfield just 51 seconds after their previous score. Fiest inserted to Miller, who stopped the ball for van Leeuwen, who scored her third goal of the year.
GAME NOTES
- van Leeuwen scored her second game-winning goal of the season and is tied for the most goals in the conference with three.
- This was Tara Zollinger's 10th win as the head coach of Delaware.
- This is the eighth time under Tara Zollinger that Delaware has scored three-or-more goals in a game.
- Baldy's win is the first time since Amanda Cimillo on October 29, 2023 against Penn that a Delaware goalie making their first-collegiate start has recorded a win.
UP NEXT
The Blue Hens go back to Philadelphia to take on Temple on Friday, October 2, at 4 p.m. Temple is the alma mater of assistant coach Devin Kinzel, who will be coaching on her former home field for the first time.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware field hockey, follow the Fightin' Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Rylee LaLoup
Assisted By: Konni Hofmann
GOAL by Fairfield Rylee LaLoup (FIRST GOAL), Assist by Konni Hofmann
5:01
Josefina Dalessandro
Assisted By: Kate Fiest
GOAL by Delaware Josefina Dalessandro, Assist by Kate Fiest
19:40
Saar de Boer
Assisted By: Alexa Michielsen
GOAL by Delaware Saar de Boer, Assist by Alexa Michielsen
48:41
Alice Pifferi
Assisted By: Konni Hofmann
GOAL by Fairfield Alice Pifferi, Assist by Konni Hofmann
53:51
Linde van Leeuwen
Assisted By: Avary Miller , Kate Fiest
GOAL by Delaware Linde van Leeuwen, Assist by Avary Miller and Kate Fiest
54:45
