Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - Despite battling to two ties in the second half, the University of Delaware field hockey team could not quite pull out the victory as the Blue Hens fell to Towson, 3-2, in a closely-contested Colonial Athletic Association battle at Rullo Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Missy Woodie (top right) scored her first goal of the season and Alexis Esbitt (bottom right) added her team-leading fifth, but Christina Boarman notched four points in the game to lead Towson (11-6, 3-3 CAA) to the victory.

With the loss, the Blue Hens fall to 3-13 on the season, including 2-4 in the CAA. The 13 losses mark a single-season record. Four clubs had lost 12 games before this season.

The first half was played almost exclusively on the Delaware half of the field as Towson earned six penalty corners and recorded five shots during the first 24 minutes of the game. Despite playing on defense for much of the opening period, the Blue Hens held tough. Senior goalie Nikki Rhoades, playing in the final home game of her career, led the defensive effort, posting four early saves.

Following another penalty corner, Towson finally capitalized on its unrelenting attack. Boarman passed to Mariah Schuette who found some space and snuck a shot past Rhoades for her ninth goal of the season.

Trailing by one, Delaware's Florence Sijbrandij made a phenomenal play to keep the game close. Just two minutes after Towson scored, the Tigers had another opportunity. Boarman broke free and beat Rhoades, but Sijbrandij stood tough and blocked her shot.

Following halftime, the Blue Hens got on the scoreboard quickly. Just two minutes into the second half, Esbitt blasted a shot past Towson's Whitney Clugston to knot the game at one. Unfortunately, the Tigers answered four minutes later as Boarman found Laura Schnell for her second goal of the season.

Down by a goal once again, Delaware fought back. The Blue Hens had a breakaway with 15 minutes left in the game, but Clugston came out of the goal and made a key defensive play to stop a streaking Michelle Drummonds.

With the ball still in the Towson zone, Delaware capitalized on its second opportunity. At 54:40, Kimmy Schlezes ripped an initial shot that Rae Everson eventually corralled. The junior back then found Woodie, who fired the ball into the cage for her first career goal to retie the game at two.

As they had all day, the Tigers found an immediate answer. Following another Towson penalty corner, Schnell passed to Boarman, who blasted a shot past Rhoades. The goal was the 19th of the season for the junior standout, who leads the CAA in points and goals.

Eight minutes later, Boarman had an opportunity to ice the game after earning a penalty stroke at 67:13. After subbing Rhoades back into the game to face the shot, the senior came up large, blanking Boarman to keep Delaware's deficit at one.

Although Rhoades kept Delaware in the game, the offense could not quite muster enough to score in the waning moments of the contest. Despite two late penalty corners, the Hens came up empty.

The victory was the 11th of the season for Towson, which tied the school's all-time single-season record.

The game also marked the final home appearance for the four senior members of the Blue Hens. Along with Rhoades, Amy Brewer, Jessica Cortellino, and Erin Marihugh all concluded their careers at Rullo Stadium.

Delaware will look to end the regular season on a high-note, taking on Drexel at 7 p.m. on Friday before traveling to face Hofstra in Hempstead on Sunday at 1 p.m.