photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware women's soccer team exploded for five goals in the first half as the Blue Hens cruised to a 7-0 victory over Delaware State Friday night at the UD Mini-Stadium.

Delaware, which improved to 3-1-1 on the season, captured the first ever meeting between the in-state rivals. The Hornets dropped to 1-5 on the year.

The Blue Hens opened the scoring just 1:08 into the contest, newly named the Route 1 Rivalry, when Stephanie Rinschler collected a cross from Caitlyn Germain and beat DSU goalkeeper Brittany Curtis to the left side of the net for her first career goal.

Rinschler then found Megan Delaney, who scored her first career goal at the 6:20 mark to give Delaware a two-goal advantage. Stacie Dulkis added an unassisted goal 20:38 into the match to make it a 3-0 game, while freshman Mimi Kocela (at right) added her first career goal less than three minutes later.

Ilyssa Friedman put home a shot following a rebound with 8:05 left in the half to put Delaware up five, and the Blue Hens maintained their 5-0 cushion into the half.

Kocela added her second goal of the match at the 64:45 mark by chipping in a shot from five yards out over Hornets goalkeeper Courtney Haas, while Tania Domingos recorded her first career goal off an assist from Brittney Votek at 67:10 to close the scoring.

The Blue Hens dominated the entire match, holding a commanding 31-4 shot advantage and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks. Annie Bevan stopped two shots during the first 60 minutes in the Delaware goal, while Katie Rogers made one save in 30 minutes of scoreless action.

Curtis made eight saves while Haas stopped seven shots for Delaware State.

"I thought we played very well,” said UD 20th-year head coach Scott Grzenda. “Some of the goals we scored were textbook goals. I'm very proud of the way the team played and conducted themselves."

The Blue Hens return to action on Sunday when Delaware travels to La Salle for a 1 p.m. match with the Explorers.