Leonard, Burman Have Big Afternoons As Delaware Overpowers Saint Mary's 17-5 on Senior Day
March 29, 2011
• Boxscore
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Senior Day Photos Courtesy of John Stark
NEWARK, Del. - With a pair of Blue Hens scoring four goals, the University of Delaware overpowered the visiting Gaels of Saint Mary's College (Calif.) 17-5 on Tuesday afternoon. During the halftime break, Delaware head coach and her staff Kateri Linville honored the program's eight senior players and manager.
“Teamwork was key today,” said Linville of her teams six assists and overall effort. “That was an awesome third straight win for us at home and it helped us position ourselves well for conference play.”
The Hens begin Colonial Athletic Association action on Saturday as they host the Tigers of Towson University at 1 p.m. in Delaware Stadium.
Delaware improves to 5-5 on the season and is currently riding a three-game winning streak, the longest so far in Linville's career. This is the first time SMC and Delaware have met.
The Hens remain undefeated against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents, holding a 3-0 advantage against Denver University and 2-0 versus the Ducks of University of Oregon.
Holly Burman, one of the eight seniors, had a career day, tallying four goals while sophomore Morgan Leonard also put in four goals. Corrine Drost and Julianna Jeffers, both seniors, posted three goals each and yet another senior, Ali Libertini, had a solid outing with three assists. Junior captain Kalyn McDonough also posted three helpers.
Delaware junior Quinn Daly recorded a pair of markers while freshman Chelsea Fay scored her seventh goal of the year.
For the Gaels, who slide to 2-7 on the year, had just one player with multiple goals. Mariah Walk found the back of the net twice, while Krista Morgan, Jillian Chong and Caroline Mahony each scored once. Morgan had the afternoon's lone assist.
Saint Mary's netminder Kathleen Worsdale had a busy afternoon as the Hens peppered her with 28 shots on goal. Worsdale managed to turn aside 11 of those attempts. In cage for Delaware, Makenzie Worthington got the start and her fifth win of the season. Worthington stopped four Gael shots in her 50 minutes of play, while backup Tori Zorovich made her first appearance for the Blue and Gold, making two stops in her 10 minutes of action.
The Gaels struck first as Morgan tallied a marker just over four minutes into the game, her eighth of the season.
But Delaware’s high-powered offense, which has outscored opponents by double figures in the last two games, answered with four straight goals. Burman scored the first and third during the run, while Jeffers chipped in her 16th of the season while Daly had her second.
Both Burman tallies were assisted, the first from McDonough and the second from Libertini.
Walk broke up the scoring run with an unassisted goal with 11:10 left in the first half, cutting Delaware’s lead to 4-2.
Drost, the team’s lead scorer, scored her first of the afternoon and extended her points streak to 11 while also sparking another Delaware run.
Leonard buried her 13th goal of the season, followed by another from Drost with the assist going to Libertini. Fay scored her lone goal of the day with 5:43 remaining in the opening period.
Burman rounded out the first period action with back-to-back goals to log her second career hat trick.
The Gaels’ Mahony scored her first goal of the season to conclude the first half as Morgan was credited with the assist. Delaware took a 10-3 lead in the break.
Jeffers came out in the second half looking to score, doing so in just 31 seconds into the fresh period, giving Libertini her third helper of the afternoon, putting the Hens on yet another multi-goal run.
“I was happy with the way the team responded after the break, especially with the Jeffers and Libertini goal,” said Linville.
Leonard tallied back-to-back goals, her 14th and 15th of the year just 33 seconds apart, folloed by Jeffers’ third of the day on a McDonough assist. Drost netter her final tally of the day followed by Leonard’s four on a free position shot.
Saint Mary’s scored two of the final three goals, with Chong getting her first of the day and 18th of the year, followed by Walker’s second with 5:40 left in the game.
Daly registered her third goal of the season to conclude Delaware’s offensive efforts for the afternoon. The team’s 17th goal marked the most the Hens have scored since an 18-8 win over Loyola University (Md.) on April 24, 2007.
The 17 Blue Hen goals also tied the record for a single game in Delaware Stadium. The University of Maryland also scored 17 on Feb. 16 in the 2011 season opener against Delaware.
Delaware’s six assists are the most this season, and most since the Hens had six helpers twice last season against Towson on April 3 and Rutgers on March 6.
“We wanted to set an example to the underclassmen on how important it is to play as a team from start to finish,” said Burman on the team’s collect efforts. “ It was important that we played as a team, especially on senior day. We stuck to the game plan.”
Twenty-eight of the Blue Hens 34 total shots were on cage. Delaware’s shooting was balanced through both halves, taking 18 in the first and 16 in the second. Saint Mary’s managed just 13 on the day, with seven coming in the first half.
The Hens held a large margin in the groundball column as well, scooping up 23 to the Gaels’ 14. Both teams battled in the draw circle in the first half, with Delaware holding an 8-6 edge. But the Hens dominated the second half draws, 7-3 for a 15-9 advantage in the end.
Delaware minimized its turnovers in the second half. After 10 in the opening 30 minutes, the Hens committed just four the entire final 30 minutes. Saint Mary’s had double-digit turnovers in both periods, with 13 in the first and 10 in the second.
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