Photo courtesy Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE -- Sophomore midfielder Emily Schaknowski scored a career-high four goals and assisted on two others to propel the University of Delaware women's lacrosse team to a 13-4 rout of longtime rival Penn State on Friday afternoon at Rullo Stadium.

The Blue Hens, who won their third game in a row and their 13th consecutive contest at home dating back to the 2006 season, also got a career-best four goals and an assist from freshman midfielder Julianna Jeffers (at right) and a hat trick from sophomore attack Courtney Aburn.

Aburn drew first blood for the Hens, netting her first goal of the day at the 22:18 mark. After PSU's Kerry Shea knotted the score a minute and a half later, UD ran off five unanswered goals to close out the first half. Schaknowski beat Nittany Lion goalkeeper Jess Boccio twice during the run, both on free position shots, while freshman Brittany Davis found the net on a Jeffers feed and sophomore Morgan Marino notched her second career goal with 5:23 left in the period.

Aburn gave the Hens a 6-1 halftime lead when she gathered a pass from Schaknowski and fired in her second of the game at the 4:06 mark.

Jeffers scored UD's first three goals of the second half in a 10:06 span, extending the Delaware advantage to 9-2 on an unassisted goal with 19:54 remaining. Aburn struck again on a free position attempt at the 17:49 mark and Schaknowski netted another goal just over a minute later to put the game out of reach.

Junior Jessica Cerveny was sensational in goal for the Hens, as she made eight saves - many on point-blank shots - and gave up her fewest goals since a 15-4 victory over Villanova on April 27 of last season. The Delaware defense, which held PSU scoreless for a 23:31 stretch midway through the game, collected 31 ground balls and forced 14 Penn State turnovers. The Hens limited Penn State to its fewest goals since a 13-4 loss to North Carolina on March 28, 2004.

Delaware avenged last year's 15-10 loss at Penn State and improved to 7-22 all-time against the Nittany Lions.

UD enjoyed a 28-20 edge in shots and converted 17 of its 18 clear attempts in the victory.

The Blue Hens return to action on Sunday afternoon, when they open Colonial Athletic Association play at Towson.

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