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Univ. of Delaware field hockey team earns third straight NCAA tourney appearance

The University of Delaware field hockey team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year.

The Blue Hens earned an automatic berth into the Division I national playoffs by capturing the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship Sunday.  UD defeated James Madison 2-1 in overtime at JMU to win CAA tournament title game.

Freshman Lisa Giezeman scored the game-winning goal with 8:59 left in OT.

UD is the first to win three straight CAA field hockey titles since James Madison from 2006-2008. It’s the Hens’ fifth crown since joining the league in 2002.  

"JMU was an extremely tough opponent and we knew we were going to have to come out strong.  Everyone did their part today and I’m proud of every single member of this team," said Senior Tri-Captain Jacki Coveleski. "Each CAA Championship has been different.  This year it was expected of us, but we still needed to put the hard work it, it wasn’t going to be handed to us.  We hold ourselves to the highest standard as a team and we have to keep working hard to continue to reach our goals this season

“Every championship is unique it its own right.  I couldn’t be more proud of this team and the steps that we’ve taken to get here.  This was a true team effort," said Senior Tri-Captain Allie Mikelson.

Delaware - now 16-5 this season and ranked 15th nationally   – will face the tourney’s third seed Virginia in a first round contest Saturday at 11:30 am at Virginia.

Last year, Delaware fell to Kent State in a NCAA tournament play in game at home.  Two years ago, the Blue Hens beat Liberty in a tourney play-in game before losing a first round contest at North Carolina.

Tom Byrne has been a fixture covering news in Delaware for three decades. He joined Delaware Public Media in 2010 as our first news director and has guided the news team ever since. When he's not covering the news, he can be found reading history or pursuing his love of all things athletic.