During the Revolutionary War the Men of the 2nd Co of the First Delaware Regiment under the command of Captain Jonathon Caldwell were mostly recruited in Kent County and took with them Blue game chickens. The chickens were known for their great fighting ability, and therefore the regiment became known as the Blue Hens. The University of Delaware adopted the name and in fact their agricultural school still houses and breeds Blue Hens.
There’s a lot to be learned from last year’s stats as the University of Delaware’s season became a drama in two parts. The entire season had a 10-12 record and in fact, the first 9 games left them with a 1-8 record. However, the second part of the season turned it around, as their conference record was 5-1, 3-0 at home and 2-1 away. They ended playing Lehigh in the NCAA tournament beating them 4-0 in North Carolina. In that first stretch they lost to Va., American, Monmouth, UCONN, Penn State, Princeton,Rutgers and St Joes. The best win during their winning streak was a 3-2 victory over William and Mary.
More interesting was their scoring pattern. They scored 54 goals but gave up 60 in the process. They have brought in a transfer from UNC, sophomore Kylie Walbert. In her freshman season at UNC the 5’11 goalkeeper played in virtually every game for 30 minutes each amassing a save percentage of .657 with a goal against average of 1.33.
Delaware is picked to win the CAA and three players were circled as preseason all conference, Julia Duffuiss (nbr 12), Beber Bakerman (nbr 7), and as an Honorable Mention KiKi Oudshoorn (nbr 8). Julia Duffuiss is named preseason player of the year as a defender recognizing her 14 goal contribution. I suspect she is a key player in their offense corner set.
Delaware scores the most in the third quarter and gives up the most in the fourth quarter. They earned 125 corners and gave up 110. Lafayette conversely, earned 77 corners and gave up 106.
Lafayette’s record is 11-19-2 with the Blue Hens. The last win was a 4-2 win on Oct 15, 2003. The last game was a loss in 2017, although there have been exhibition games since. The first game was on Nov. 10 1977.
This will be a good test in this last exhibition game before the regular season!!
Lafayette College Field Hockey 