Delaware and Drexel Earn Semifinal Victories to Advance to the 2022 CAA Field Hockey Championship Game
Hunter Peters
NEWARK, Del. (Nov. 4, 2022) - Second-seeded Delaware and fourth-seeded Drexel advanced to the CAA Field Hockey Championship game, following semifinal victories Friday at Fred P. Rullo Stadium on the campus of the University of Delaware.
The Blue Hens and Dragons will meet at 1 p.m. on Sunday to decide the 2022 CAA Field Hockey Champion.
It will be the second time in tournament history that Delaware and Drexel will collide in the championship final. The previous matchup took place in 2009 with the Blue Hens winning a 1-0 contest. Drexel is making its fourth appearance in the championship game and looking for its second conference title, while Delaware is attempting to win four straight CAA title and ninth in the past 10 seasons.
No. 2 Delaware 6, No. 3 Northeastern 1 | BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
Julia Duffhuis recorded her first career hat trick to lead second-seeded Delaware to a 6-1 win over third-seeded Northeastern in Friday evening’s second CAA semifinal matchup.
The Blue Hens improve to 8-11 this season and advance to their 10th consecutive CAA Championship game, where they will face fourth-seeded Drexel at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Northeastern finishes the season 5-14 after the setback.
After a scoreless first quarter, the fireworks started in the second. Delaware opened the scoring courtesy of Duffhuis in the 19th minute as the Blue Hens converted a penalty corner. Northeastern responded with a penalty corner of its own in the 26th minute as Emmy Stubbs found the back of the cage off a deflection to even the score. Eighteen seconds later, the Blue Hens were back on the attack, and Duffhuis tallied her second goal in the contest on another penalty corner to give Delaware a 2-1 lead that the Blue Hens would take into halftime.
Delaware left no doubt in the third quarter, adding three goals to give the Blue Hens a 5-1 lead, which proved insurmountable. Genevieve Johnson scored unassisted in the 37th minute before Ashlyn Carr converted a penalty stroke two minutes later. Noelle Sabbagh put the exclamation point on the quarter, scoring on a breakaway with one minute remaining in the period assisted by Kiki Oudshoorn.
In the fourth, Duffhuis tallied her third goal off a penalty corner in the 48th minute, and the Blue Hens coasted to the finish line.
Delaware held a 19-12 advantage in shots, including an 8-5 in shots on goal. The Blue Hens also outgained the Huskies 9-6 in penalty corners.
The six points and three goals are career highs for Duffhuis, while Carr set career bests in points and assists, recording five points on three assists and one goal.
Kate Blaisdell and Sarah Coyle added points for the Huskies, earning an assist on the Stubbs penalty corner.
No. 4 Drexel 3, No. 1 Monmouth 1 | BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
Fourth-seeded Drexel scored three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat top-seeded Monmouth 3-1 and advance to the CAA Championship match for the first time since 2012.
Drexel improves to 12-7 on the season and will face No. 2 Delaware in the title game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Monmouth concludes the year 10-8 in its inaugural CAA season.
Drexel came out of the half firing on all cylinders, scoring 23 seconds into the third quarter, with Avery Powell tallying the equalizer off a penalty corner to tie the score at 1-1. It was the first of two third-quarter goals as the Dragons flipped a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead, converting a penalty corner in the 44th minute. Stephanie Oleykowski recorded the goal, while Taylor Mason and Isabel Jacobs were credited with assists on both opportunities.
The Dragons carried the momentum into the fourth as Drexel scored 28 seconds into the final period. Jacobs scored the final blow, and the defense did its job, holding Monmouth scoreless for the final 31 minutes.
Monmouth opened the scoring in the second quarter, earning six penalty corners in the period, with Annick van Lange recording her NCAA-leading 24th goal of the season on the sixth. The goal came in the 29th minute as the Hawks took a 1-0 advantage into the break. Phileine Hazen did her part, adding three saves in the cage to give her five in a shutout over the first 30 minutes.
Drexel applied the early pressure on the offensive end, recording three penalty corners and two shots on goal in the first 2:15 of the contest, but Monmouth held strong behind two saves from Hazen. The Dragons went on to outshoot the Hawks 5-1 in the period despite a scoreless quarter.
The teams each recorded 14 shots with Drexel holding a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Dragons also held a slight 11-9 edge in penalty corners.
Jacobs recorded a match-high four points on one goal and two assists, marking her fourth multi-assist game this fall. Mason also added two assists for Drexel, notching her second multi-assist performance this year.
For Monmouth, van Lange scored in her seventh straight contest to end the season. The graduate forward ends her career as Monmouth’s all-time leader in points (170) and goals (75).
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