(Update: UD has won the national championship, defeating North Carolina 3-2.)

The University of Delaware field hockey team defeated Princeton University 3-2 in an NCAA championship tournament semifinal game played Friday evening at Old Dominion University's L.R. Hill Sports Complex in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Blue Hens will face the University of North Carolina at 1 p.m., Sunday, also in Norfolk, for the national championship. It will be UD's first appearance in the NCAA national championship game.

North Carolina earned its spot in the finale with a 2-1 win in overtime against the University of Connecticut.

UD took the early lead 1-0 on a first-half goal by senior Esmee Peete at 15:05 off a penalty corner, with assists by Maura Zarkoski and Kayla Devlin. Princeton tied the score on a goal by Ryan McCarthy less than one minute later. The teams went into the half tied 1-1.

The Hens took a 2-1 second half lead on a goal by sophomore Kiki Bink in the 55th minute as the defender redirected the shot from Greta Nauck.

Again Princeton came back to tie on a goal by Cat Caro on a penalty corner with a little over three minutes to play.

A man down due to a yellow card, UD took the lead for good on a second goal as senior Meghan Winesett sent the ball to a wide open Peet with just a minute and a half left to play.

UD junior goalie Emmeline Oltmans had three saves, and Bink was credited with a defensive save. Princeton goalie Grace Baylis had two saves.

With the win, UD improves to 22-2. The Hens have won 18 straight games since losing at Princeton on Sept. 11.

“This is unreal. To have the opportunity to set and reach our goals is simply amazing," said Peet, a senior tri-captain. "This group is so connected this year. We all want to work for each other and play for each other, so we feel like we can face any opponent at any time. We’ll do anything for this program because we love to play the game and we love to play for each other.”  

“It’s just amazing. I can’t really believe it," Nauck said. "To be competing for a championship is just a feeling I can’t really describe. You have to believe in yourself and fight the entire 70 minutes. The game isn’t over until the clock says zero and we fought every minute today. Anything is possible.”

“This is what we’ve worked for the entire year," UD head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said. "We’ve gotten better throughout every game we’ve played. Princeton is a great team with a great tradition of hockey and we had to dig deep to do what we had to do, but we got it done. At the end of the day, there’s only one tournament in the country that you want to be dancing in, and I love 'November Madness' as it relates to field hockey. For us to compete for a NCAA tournament championship, of course it’s exciting, but with this group we celebrate until midnight and then we go back about our business. This group has taken ownership of that approach and they’re level-headed and ready to go.”

UD Athletics has announced that complimentary bus transportation will be provided to Sunday’s championship game, also in Norfolk, Virginia. The bus will leave from the Bob Carpenter Center promptly at 7 a.m. on Sunday and will return immediately following the game. RSVP to mdunne@udel.edu as soon as possible.