Women’s varsity sports teams at the University of Delaware have enjoyed outstanding success over the last two years, starting with the advance of the Fightin’ Blue Hens softball team to the Colonial Athletic Association championship game against powerhouse Hofstra University in the spring of 2004.

The run continued with terrific fall 2004 seasons by the field hockey team, which won the CAA title and earned a berth in the NCAA Division I championship tournament, and the volleyball team, which reached the CAA championship game before falling to Towson University.

It included a remarkable winter run by the women’s basketball team, which won the CAA regular season title, and a breakout spring of 2005 by the women’s lacrosse team, which spent several weeks in the top 20 of the national polls. And this fall, the women’s soccer team reached the semifinals of the CAA championship tournament before falling 2-1 to eventual champion Hofstra University.

The UD softball team, led by Head Coach B.J. Ferguson, set the pace by going 29-24-1 and reaching the CAA tournament championship game in the spring of 2004.

The Hens used strong pitching by then-freshman Carolynn Sloat and the power of CAA Player of the Year Laura Streets, who hit .399. UD upset defending champion Hofstra 3-2 to open the conference tournament but ultimately fell to the Pride 2-0 and, in the final game, 2-1 in extra innings.

Sloat continued her strong pitching into 2005, when the Hens often had four freshmen–Allison Borchers, Katie Lee, Natalie Savona and Barbara Traynor–in the starting lineup and yet still went on to post a second straight season with a winning record at 26-25. Borchers and Traynor were the team’s top two hitters, with Borchers batting .329 and Traynor .284.

During the 2005 season, Ferguson earned her 500th victory, joining former UD baseball coach Bob Hannah and former volleyball coach Barbara Viera in the elite 500-win club. Her record heading into the 2006 season is 510-459-4.

Field hockey

Led by Head Coach Carol Miller, the 2004 field hockey team went 15-7 while playing a difficult schedule and competing in one of the top three field hockey conferences in the nation. The Hens spent much of the season ranked in the top 20 nationally and entered the conference tournament as the third seed.

They quickly made a statement, defeating defending champion Old Dominion University 2-1 in overtime in the tournament semifinals as senior Lauren Carr scored on a cross from sophomore Amanda Warrington. In the title game, UD crushed Hofstra University 5-1 as Carr had a pair of goals and Warrington was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

UD advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third time in history, where it had to face the No. 3 ranked University of Maryland from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference in College Park, Md. The Hens struck first on an unassisted goal by Warrington but ultimately fell 5-2.

That team had strong senior leadership from four-year starters Leah Geib, who went on to be named a finalist for the 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, Erica LaBar, Jessi Balmer and Lauren Carr. Both Geib and LaBar were selected to compete in the annual National Field Hockey Coaches Association North-South Senior All-Star game.

In 2005, the Hens started well, defeating the University of the Pacific, the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University on a Western swing to open the season. However, the team struggled much of the rest of the season and finished 8-11 overall and 2-6 in the CAA.

Sophomore back Molly Burke was named first team All-CAA and Katie Evans, who spent part of the season on the U.S. national under-21 team and competed in the Junior World Cup, was named second team All-CAA. Freshman Casey Howard was named to the CAA All-Rookie team.

Basketball

Lacrosse

The UD women’s lacrosse team entered the 2005 season with a new head coach, Kim Ciarrocca, the former head coach at Temple University, and the results were seen quickly as the Hens went 8-8 and cracked the national top 20 rankings for several weeks at mid-season.

The Hens also earned their first berth in the CAA championship tournament, where they fell to top-seeded Hofstra.

UD senior Erin Edell was named first team All-CAA and joined teammate Becky Rausa, a second team all-conference selection, in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association North-South Senior All-Star Game.

Senior Kelly O’Connor also was named second team all-conference, and freshmen Katie Hogan and Casey McCrudden were named to the CAA All-Rookie Team.

Soccer

Head Coach Scott Grzenda led the Hens to a 10-6-4 season, which included a berth in the CAA championship tournament and top 15 rankings in regional polls.

UD entered the conference tournament as the third seed and opened with a home game at the Delaware Mini-Stadium, where they defeated the College of William & Mary in an epic sudden death penalty kick shootout.

Regulation ended 1-1, with UD scoring on a goal by senior midfielder Melissa Kunisky. After two scoreless overtimes and a five-kick shootout, the teams went to sudden death and the Hens won on a score by sophomore Alli D’Amico and a stop by goalkeeper Lindsey Shover.

Against Hofstra University in the semifinal match, the Hens broke on top on a goal by Shelby Lawrence but ultimately fell 2-1 as the Pride went on to win the conference championship.

“I’m really proud of the way our team played tonight and all season long,” Grzenda, the 2005 CAA Coach of the Year, said. “Over the last six or seven games we played our best soccer of the year, and I hope we can carry that over to next season.”

For the Hens, senior midfielder Shannon Alger was named first team All-CAA, junior defender Lauren Petchel was named second team All-CAA and freshman forward Caitlyn Germain was named to the CAA All-Rookie team.