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Blue Hen field hockey wins CAA championship

The University of Delaware field hockey team has won the Colonial Athletic Association championship by defeating Old Dominion and Hofstra, with UD's Amanda Warrington, pictured here working the ball upfield in a regular season loss to Old Dominion earlier this year, being named the tournament's most valuable player.

10:51 a.m., Nov. 8, 2004--The University of Delaware field hockey team has won the Colonial Athletic Association championship and, as a result, a berth in the 16-team NCAA tournament.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens won the conference title by upsetting Old Dominion University 2-1 in overtime on Saturday, then defeating Hofstra University 5-1 on Sunday. The tournament was held on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

"I am ecstatic and really excited for our 22 players," UD Head Coach Carol Miller said after the victory over Hofstra. "This team has worked extremely hard since preseason began on Aug. 8, and our seniors really came through for us today as they have all season."

With the championship, UD earns the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament and advances to the national championship field for the third time in school history. The 1982 and 1988 squads advanced after winning East Coast Conference titles. In addition, four UD teams were invited to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) tournaments prior to the involvement of the NCAA in women’s athletics.

The 16-team tournament field will be announced at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9, and will be broadcast live by College Sports Television.

UD, which entered weekend action ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division I, defeated Hofstra on goals by Lauren Carr, who scored twice, Jessi Balmer, Amber Deimler and Erica LaBar.

LaBar gave UD the early lead by converting a penalty stroke for her 10th goal of the year with 20:06 remaining in the first half. Hofstra came back to tie the game 1-1, but Carr gave UD the lead for good at the 8:26 mark by tipping a cross from sophomore Katie Evans past Hofstra goalkeeper Jessica Cowperthwait.

Deimler converted a cross from Balmer with 5:39 remaining for her third goal of the season, and the Hens took a 3-1 lead into halftime.

Balmer scored an unassisted goal, her seventh of the year, with 22:13 left in the game to make it 4-1, and Carr capped the scoring with a goal off a Deimler assist with 10:04 to play for her team-high 11th goal of the season.

UD dominated the championship game, holding a 15-6 shot advantage and an 8-4 edge in penalty corners. Goalkeeper Megan Allen made just one save, while Cowperthwait stopped nine shots for Hofstra.

The Hens reached the title game by upsetting Old Dominion 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Carr, who scored off a cross from Amanda Warrington with 2:58 remaining in the first overtime period.

Old Dominion struck first in the game, scoring with 3:13 remaining in the first half. The Hens responded, however, on a goal by Leah Geib with just 17 seconds left in the period. Geib scored after collecting a rebound off a shot by LaBar.

The game was 1-1 at the half and remained that way through a scoreless second half and into overtime before Carr scored for the victory.

Allen made four saves for the Hens.

The win over Old Dominion was the first ever for the Hens.

UD’s Warrington was named the CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Balmer, Carr and Geib.

Hofstra was a surprise finalist, defeating the top seed and host William and Mary 1-0 in the semifinals.

Photo by Kevin Tucker

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