Delaware Headlines Preseason Field Hockey Honors
Hunter Peters
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 15, 2022) – Three-time defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion Delaware headlined the conference’s preseason field hockey honors as the Blue Hens were favored to win the 2022 CAA title, and junior
Julia Duffhuis was selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, in a vote of the league’s seven head coaches.
Delaware was a unanimous favorite, collecting six first-place votes and the maximum 36 points to sit atop the CAA Preseason Poll. Northeastern followed with 28 points and one first-place vote, while newcomer Monmouth was selected third with 27 points. William & Mary collected 22 points to rank fourth, and Drexel was fifth with 17 points. Hofstra and Towson rounded out the poll finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Last season, Duffhuis earned CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors before leading Delaware to its third straight CAA title and being named the Most Outstanding Performer of the CAA Tournament. Last fall, the Bergeijk, Netherlands native topped Delaware with 13 goals and 29 points, ranking second and third in the conference in each respective category. Duffhuis also received second-team All-America honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) following her performance in 2021.
The Blue Hens will be poised to challenge for their ninth CAA title in the past 10 seasons as Delaware returns eight players that started in at least half of their games last season. Delaware is experienced in the cage, with graduate-student
Lizzie Gaebel returning after posting a 1.76 goals-against average to rank second in the CAA last fall. Offensively,
Ashlyn Carr is back after leading the CAA with 11 assists in 2021 while also tallying four goals to total 19 points. In addition,
Kiki Oudshoorn is back on the attack for the Blue Hens after ranking second on the team with nine goals and registering 22 points last fall.
Northeastern has reached the CAA tournament four times in the past five years and will be looking to get back this season. The Huskies return three of their top four point producers from last season, including
Lauren Rowe and
Lara Taylor. Rowe was the only player in the CAA to record double-digit goals (11) and assists (10) last fall, finishing the year second overall with 32 points. Taylor tallied 11 points on five goals and one assist en route to CAA All-Rookie honors during her freshman campaign.
Monmouth enters its first season in CAA Field Hockey. The Hawks have reached at least 10 wins in six straight seasons and have advanced to their respective conference championship game 10 times since 2009.
Annick van Lange leads the Monmouth squad into 2022 after earning America East Offensive Player of the Year accolades last season. The Sint-Job, Belgium native tallied 39 points on 17 goals and five assists to help the Hawks to a 12-6 record last fall.
William & Mary is always amongst the contenders in CAA Field Hockey and qualified for its sixth consecutive CAA Tournament last fall. On the attack, William & Mary will look to
Pyper Friedman, who earned CAA All-Rookie accolades following her freshman season. Friedman should be exciting to watch in her sophomore season after competing with the U-21 U.S. Women’s National team this summer. Defensively, the Tribe turns to more experience with senior
Tabby Billingham, a three-time All-CAA honoree, leading the backline.
The Dragons nearly advanced to the CAA Championship game during the 2021 spring season and will look to return to the CAA tournament after missing the field last fall. Drexel’s leader,
Eline Di Leva, enters her junior season and has received First Team All-CAA honors during her first two seasons. Di Leva led Drexel with seven goals and 20 points last season, also tallying six assists.
Isabel Jacobs has also been a staple in the Dragons’ program over the past three seasons. Last fall, Jacobs topped Drexel with nine assists and added a pair of goals, recording 13 points.
Hofstra was loaded with young talent last season and the Pride will be more experienced this fall.
Cami Larsson was one of the crucial upperclassmen last year, and Hofstra welcomes her back for a fifth year. Larsson has earned All-CAA honors three times in her career, including second team accolades in 2021.
Towson won a conference game for the second straight season in 2021, marking the first time Towson has won a CAA contest in back-to-back seasons since 2010-11. The Tigers will look to build off the past two seasons in 2022. Towson is led by
Georgia Beachley, who started every game for the Tigers last season and led the team in goals (5), assists (3) and points (13).
The 2022 season gets underway on Friday, August 26, with six CAA teams taking the turf for their season openers. The 2022 CAA Field Hockey Championship is scheduled for Friday, November 4 through Sunday, November 6 at Fred P. Rullo stadium in Newark, Del., on the campus of the University of Delaware.
2022 CAA Field Hockey Preseason Poll
| Team |
Points |
| 1. Delaware (6) |
36 |
| 2. Northeastern (1) |
28 |
| 3. Monmouth |
27 |
| 4. William & Mary |
22 |
| 5. Drexel |
17 |
| 6. Hofstra |
9 |
| 7. Towson |
8 |
( ) = First-place votes
2022 Preseason Player of the Year: Julia Duffhuis, Delaware
2022 Preseason All-CAA Field Hockey Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Tabby Billingham |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
D/M |
Suffolk, England |
| Ashlyn Carr |
Delaware |
Sr. |
M |
Delmar, Del. |
| Eline Di Leva |
Drexel |
Jr. |
F |
Lelystad, Netherlands |
| Julia Duffhuis |
Delaware |
Jr. |
D |
Bergeijk, Netherlands |
| Pyper Friedman |
William & Mary |
So. |
M |
Phoenix, Md. |
| Lizzie Gaebel |
Delaware |
Gr. |
GK |
Kennett Square, Pa. |
| Cami Larsson |
Hofstra |
Fifth-Yr. |
D/M |
Cordoba, Argentina |
| Kiki Oudshoorn |
Delaware |
Jr. |
F |
Ede, Netherlands |
| Lauren Rowe |
Northeastern |
Sr. |
M/D |
Norwich, England |
| Lara Taylor |
Northeastern |
So. |
M |
Norwich, England |
| Annick van Lange |
Monmouth |
Gr. |
F |
Sint-Job, Belgium |
Honorable Mention: Georgia Beachley (M/F), Towson;
Sian Emslie (M), Delaware;
Lieke Gorsse (M/D), Hofstra;
Jonna Kennedy (GK), Northeastern; Isabel Jacobs (M), Drexel
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