Photo courtesy Mark Campbell

NORFOLK, VA -- Senior attack Katie Muth scored three goals and assisted on two others to propel the University of Delaware women's lacrosse team to a convincing 14-6 victory over Old Dominion in Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse action on Friday afternoon at Foreman Field.

Junior midfielder Debbie Sloan and senior attack Casey McCrudden (at right) also notched hat tricks for the Blue Hens, who improved to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in CAA play to strengthen their position for a berth in the CAA Tournament.

The Hens attacked from the opening whistle, as they built a 6-1 lead over the first 21 minutes behind two goals from Sloan and one each from Muth, McCrudden, Emily Schaknowski, and Holly Burman. ODU closed the gap to three by halftime, but the Monarchs never got any closer the rest of the way.

Sophomore attack Courtney Aburn began the second stanza with some fireworks, scoring on a Sloan assist just a minute into the period to swing the momentum back to Delaware. After a five-minute lull in the action, Schaknowski and McCrudden found the net seven seconds apart to stretch the margin to six and effectively seal the deal.

Delaware dominated virtually every facet of play on the way to its fourth win in its last five meetings with Old Dominion. The Hens out-shot ODU 39-23, including 24-11 in the second half, and hustled to collect 22 ground balls to the Monarchs' 11. The Blue Hens also forced 15 ODU turnovers while committing just 10 of their own.

Schaknowski finished with two goals and two assists for the Hens, while junior goalkeeper Jessica Cerveny made 12 saves to earn the win.

Kelly Kimener and Kaelyn Schival scored two goals apiece to lead ODU (4-7, 0-5 CAA), which lost its seventh consecutive game. The Monarchs were whistled for four yellow cards on the day and couldn't convert any of their four free-position attempts.

The Blue Hens, winners of four of their last five, close out their CAA slate on Sunday with a trip to William & Mary.

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