Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore / Video Highlights

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. –A first-half goal by Amanda McCardell stood up and proved to be the game-winner as the No. 16 ranked University of Delaware field hockey team completed an incredible turnaround from last season as the Blue Hens upset top-seed and No. 10 ranked Drexel, 1-0, in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game at Buckley Field on Sunday afternoon.

The Delaware defense was incredible throughout the contest, thwarting every Drexel attack. Goalie Noelle Diana (top right) was dominant in the cage, posting a career-high 12 saves on the way to the shutout.

“Defense wins championships, and that's what we did,” said head coach Carol Miller. “But we also had a strong attack and that allowed us to play strong defense. We were able to deny their top offensive players, and that was a big key today. We  thought that if we could handle them offensively, we could win this game, and that's what we did.”

The CAA title is the second one for the Blue Hens (14-5) after also capturing the 2004 championship. With the victory, the squad advances to the NCAA Tournament that starts on Saturday after clinching the league’s automatic bid.

“This is so amazing,” said Casey Howard (middle right), who was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “This has been our goal since we got here as freshmen. This is an awesome feeling. It really hasn't hit me yet.  We knew we could reach this goal if we worked hard all season. It wasn't just us, but it was also our coaches, our trainers, and our strength coaches. We were the most fit team at this tournament, and we just kept going and going.”

The victory continues an incredible turnaround from last season’s 3-15 team. Delaware’s 11-win jump from 2008 marks the highest in the NCAA. With nearly the same collection of players from last year’s squad, the Hens have bounced back in an impressive fashion.

Throughout the contest, the Blue Hen defense was simply sensational. Facing Drexel’s potent offensive attack that ranks first in the conference in goals and scoring margin, the Delaware defenders held strong. Despite being out-shot 22-4 and trailing in penalty corners, 10-2, UD kept the Dragons off the scoreboard.

It marked the first time Drexel (18-3) was held scoreless since being blanked, 3-0, in the 2007 CAA semifinals against James Madison. The team had scored at least one goal in 40 straight contests before facing the vaunted Delaware defense.

In the first period, Drexel hit the ground running and had several scoring opportunities. Six minutes into the game, the Dragons earned a penalty corner and blasted a pair of shots. Despite the quick attack, Diana held strong, swatting away both attempts.

Later in the period, Diana made a beautiful glove-hand stop on a Susan Ciufo shot and kicked aside a blast by Jen Cairone before the Delaware offense regained its footing.

Halfway through the opening period, the Blue Hens had a flurry of opportunities but could notquite convert. A centering pass by Kim Schlezes was just off the mark and a nice chance by Carley Hecht went wide right. Later, at the six-minute mark, the Blue Hens earned a penalty corner, but the Dragon defense was up to the challenge again, intercepting a pass before UD could fire a shot.

With time running out in the first half, Delaware pieced together another attack. Lizzie Lewis dished to Howard, who drove hard and beat a pair of defenders to earn a 2-on-1 alongside McCardell (bottom right). With numbers on their side, Howard hit McCardell with a beautiful pass in front of the cage. The sophomore standout quickly converted, ripping a shot past Drexel’s Jenna Phillips to stake the squad a 1-0 lead with just 43 seconds remaining in the first period.

Following halftime, Drexel once again proved to be the aggressor in the early going. The team earned a pair of penalty corners, but Diana stopped the first shot before the second attempt went wide left. Later, Diana came up big again as she came out of the cage and made a beautiful play to spoil a breakaway by Elizabeth Koch and strip the ball from the Dragon forward.

Drexel remained on the attack, recording three shots within a one-minute span, but Diana stopped one while two others went wide. Later, Delaware answered with its first offensive threat of the second half as Howard ripped a shot, but a Drexel defender got in the way to keep the game within reach.

As the clock slowly started to wind down, Drexel picked up its attack again. With 20 minutes left, the Dragons earned back-to-back penalty corners, but a pair of shots by Susan Ciufo were batted away before even making it to Diana.

At 57:34, Delaware had its best chance to extend the lead when the team picked up a penalty corner. With the opportunity, the Blue Hens nearly capitalized, but Drexel’s Jenna Phillips made an excellent save off of a Schlezes shot to keep the squad’s deficit at one.

Over the final 10 minutes, the Dragons pieced together a furious rally to keep the Hens on their heels. The hosts earned three penalty corners and uncorked five shots, but the Delaware defense was up to the challenge. Diana posted three saves in the waning moments and the BlueHen defenders blocked two other shots to keep the Dragons off the board and complete the shutout.

“It was really nerve-wracking out there, but we just took it minute by minute and we pulled it out,” said Noelle Diana about the final few frantic moments. “The big difference in this game was that we all worked as a team and really connected out on the field. Teamwork won this game today.”

For her performance, Diana was one of four Blue Hens to earn All-Tournament honors. Along with the team’s standout keeper, Howard, Schlezes, and Rae Everson were also selected to the team.

Drexel’s Susan Ciufo, Carolina Gibernau, and Kim Tunnell also were honored for their performances during the playoffs, while Hofstra’s Amy-Lee Levey and Genna Kovar as well as James Madison’s Kelsey Cutchins and Tara King rounded out the postseason honorees.

The Blue Hens will find out their first round opponent during the NCAA selection show on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. The show will be broadcast live on NCAASports.com