William & Mary heads to the #CAAChamps title game for the first time since 2002.
Tribe, Hens Advance to Field Hockey #CAAChamps Title Game
Tim McDonnell
Field Hockey #CAAChamps Central
Semifinal No. 2: No. 3 William & Mary 2, No. 2 James Madison 1
Box Score |
Highlights
NEWARK, Del. – Sophomore Woodard Hooper scored the game-winning goal in the 49
th minute to help send William & Mary to the CAA Field Hockey Championship game for the first time since 2002 as the third-seeded Tribe defeated second-seeded James Madison, 2-1, on Friday night from the University of Delaware.
Squaring off in the conference’s postseason tournament for the second straight year and 11
th meeting in postseason play all-time, the Tribe avenged a 2-0 semifinal loss in 2016, holding on until the final seconds with a pair of defensive stands. JMU entered with a 9-1 record in postseason meetings between the two schools, with W&M’s previous victory coming back in 2005.
Junior Jenny McCann scored the other goal in first half for William & Mary (13-6), which has now won the most games in a single-season for the program since 2004. The No. 19 Tribe seek their first-ever CAA title on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. versus top-seeded host and No. 8 Delaware at 1:00 p.m., having reached the championship final two times previously (2002 and 1991).
The No. 15 Dukes (12-6), making their fourth consecutive trip to the league’s postseason tournament, reached the title contest each of the last three seasons coming in. Junior All-CAA first team member Miranda Rigg scored her team-leading 13
th goal of the season in defeat, giving Madison a quick 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
William & Mary seniors Cammie Lloyd and Erin Menges had a hand in tying the game before the end of the first half, as both contributed a series of passes that led to McCann scoring an easy tap-in goal. Hooper’s difference-maker came (her ninth of the season) came via a designed penalty corner play, as the sophomore chipped in a pass from Booter Ellis to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes remaining.
Notes: Tribe goalkeeper Morgan Connor made five saves, while JMU senior goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler added five. JMU had seven corners compared to four for the Tribe. W&M has not won in Newark over the Blue Hens since 2004.
Semifinal No. 1: No. 1 Delaware 3, No. 4 Northeastern 1
Box Score |
Highlights
NEWARK, Del. – Top-seeded Delaware scored all of its goals in the second half from three different players and earned a spot in the CAA Field Hockey Championship game for the fifth straight season with a 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Northeastern on Friday afternoon at Fred P. Rullo Stadium.
Delaware senior Taylor Lister tied the game at 1-1 just over two minutes into the second half, and then assisted on junior Greta Nauck’s tally just 36 seconds later for the Blue Hens (14-4), who seek their fifth consecutive conference title on Sunday.
The current No. 8 Blue Hens will face the winner of No. 15 James Madison and No. 19 William & Mary, who meet in the second semifinal contest of Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Both Lister and Nauck accounted for one goal and one assist, while senior Michaela Scanlon put the finishing touch on the win with the final tally with less than one minute remaining. Lister now owns 19 total assists this season and currently ranks second all-time at UD for career helpers. Nauck, who already broke the program records for career goals and points, recorded her 22
nd tally of the fall and upped her conference-leading point total to 50.
"It’s always important to believe in yourself and in your team," Nauck said. "The game is 70 minutes, not 35 minutes, and we knew that and didn’t give up. We were able to pick up the energy, focus on ourselves and in the end it worked out."
Northeastern, appearing in the CAA Championship for the first time since 2014, ends the season with an 8-12 record. Longtime head coach Cheryl Murtagh coached her final game after 30 years with the program and caps a remarkable career with over 400 wins. Freshman Camille O’Conor scored the Huskies’ only goal late in the first half and classmate Julia Gulyas made all of her four saves in the first half.
Gulyas held her own in the first half and played a large role in keeping the Hens off the scoreboard, turning away four shots on 11 faced in all. O’Conor accounted for the only goal in the opening period, tipping in a rocketed shot from redshirt senior Jamie Bartucca in the 29
th minute.
Notes: As the four-time defending CAA champions, Delaware has captured the most consecutive league titles since former conference member Old Dominion won eight straight from 1996-2003. Since the start of the program’s title run in 2013, UD has won nine games while outscoring opponents 38-10. NU’s Bartucca made the All-CAA first team on Thursday. The win was the 100th for UD's van de Kerkhof with the Blue Hens.
Coverage for the 2017 CAA Championship final on Sunday can be found via
CAA.tv, which is available for free online and through mobile devices as well as OTT platforms Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
2017 CAA Field Hockey Championship – Fred P. Rullo Stadium, Newark, Del.
November 3 - CAA Championship Semifinals
3:00 PM:
No. 1 Delaware 3, No. 4 Northeastern 1
6:00 PM:
No. 3 William & Mary 2, No. 2 James Madison 1
November 5, 2017 - CAA Championship Final
1:00 PM: No. 1 Delaware vs. No. 3 William & Mary