Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The University of Delaware field hockey team won its third straight game after the Blue Hens defeated Saint Joseph's, 4-2, at Buckley Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Blue Hens captured its third straight contest for the first time since opening the 2007 season with seven consecutive victories.

Carrying momentum from two strong performances against Brown and Rutgers, Delaware (3-2) quickly jumped on Saint Joseph's. Less than eight minutes into the game, Amanda McCardell uncorked a shot that was blocked by a Hawk defender. She quickly picked up her own rebound and slammed a blast into the back of the cage to put the Hens on the scoreboard.

Just over three minutes later, at 10:43 in the first half, Rae Everson padded the squad's lead. The senior standout smashed a shot from the right side of the arc and found an opening on the left side of the cage to put Delaware up, 2-0.

With the game slowly slipping away, Saint Joseph's (0-4) went on the attack. The hosts posted their first two shots of the game before Anne Schreuders finally broke through at 14:43. The Hawk midfielder set up at the top of the arc and snuck a shot past Noelle Diana.

With their lead cut in half, the Blue Hens responded. After the team earned a penalty corner, Missy Woodie set up Kimmy Schlezes (at right) with a nice feed before the senior forward found an opening to put Delaware back up by two at 3-1.

Right before halftime, Saint Joseph's answered again. Following an initial shot by Ellen Rowe that was batted away by Diana, Jen Wrublesky handled the ricochet and knocked the rebound past the Blue Hen keeper at 29:32 to pull the Hawks back within one at 3-2.

Despite the late score, Delaware held strong. The Hens came out as the aggressor in the second half, blasting six shots before the Hawks could muster even one after halftime. Finally, the up-tempo offense paid off. Michelle Drummonds earned a penalty stroke at 58:40, and the junior defender quickly converted after finding a hole in the bottom left corner of the cage.

With a two-goal cushion, the Blue Hen defense went back to work. The squad limited the Hawk attack to just two unsuccessful shots over the final 10 minutes of play to preserve the 4-2 victory.

Diana finished the contest with three saves, while the Hawk duo of Kelly Swanick and Liz Messaros combined to post seven for SJU. Delaware out-shot Saint Joseph's by an 18-7 margin, while the Hens also held a 10-3 advantage in penalty corners.

The Blue Hens will be back in action on Friday when the team returns home to host Temple at 7 p.m.