Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Stanford on September 19, 2025 at 5 p.m.
/
5 p.m.
Field Hockey
vs Stanford
Saturday, September 3
Newark, Del.
12:00 PM
Duke University
5
at
2
Delaware
Buttinger, Le Marchand Lead Duke Past Delaware, 5-2
9/3/2011 3:10:00 PM | Field Hockey
Boxscore:
Duke 5, Delaware 2
NEWARK, Del. – Freshman Jessica
Buttinger and sophomore Emmie Le Marchand both tallied two goals as Delaware
proved no match for the 15th-ranked Duke field hockey team Saturday
afternoon at Rollo Stadium. The Blue Devils downed the Blue Hens 5-2 after
outshooting Delaware25-7 for the match.
In addition, the Blue Devils' five goals was the highest scoring total by Duke since the Devils defeated Boston University 5-1 on Oct. 4, 2009. Duke, which also received a goal from junior Mary Nielsen and an assist from senior Rhian Jones, improved to 2-1 with the win, while Delaware dropped to 2-1 on the season.
“We played well,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “It was a great match. We sustained the attack and we moved the ball around the field to try and find open opportunities to take our shots. That's something we've been working on - trying to move the ball to find an open shot on goal. Out of 25 shots, we had 15 on goal, and that's pretty exciting. The Delaware goalkeeper played a great game today, so it challenged us even more to find an answer.”
Duke dominated the contest from the beginning, jumping out to a 2-0 lead by halftime and outshooting Delaware 13-1 in the opening period. In the 28th minute, Buttinger collected the rebound off a blocked Jones shot and redirected it to the back of the cage to give Duke a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Le Marchand extended that advantage to 2-0 on a shot from the right side.
However the Blue Hens would not go quietly and Delaware pulled within one five minutes into the second half on a penalty corner goal from Kelsey McKee.
“We misread the corner and they dragged it,” added Bustin. “It was just one of those things, but we still had a lot of time to play hockey. And that's what they did; they just went back to work. We were really moving the ball quite well. It's just a matter of staying on that and not letting that goal get in the way of what's been successful for us.”
The scare was short-lived as Jones delivered a perfect pass to Nielsen, who tipped in her first goal of the season, to push Duke's advantage to 3-1 with just over 24 minutes to play. Buttinger followed up with her second goal of the afternoon just three minutes later, deflecting the ball into the back of the cage for her team-leading third goal of the season.
Delaware struck again in the 50th minute, but Duke finished off the match with Le Marchand's goal with 17 minutes to play. The Worcester, England native corralled a blocked shot by classmate Brenna Rescigno and converted the opportunity for the Blue Devils' final score of the game.
The Blue Devils returns to action tomorrow, Sept. 4 in a clash of two top-20 teams as Duke takes on No. 18 Drexel at 11:30 a.m. from Delaware's Rollo Stadium.
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
What It’s Like to Be a Blue Devil
Friday, June 13
End of Year Recap
Friday, December 13
CoachBustin Postgame: North Carolina
Sunday, November 17
Coach Bustin & Frederique Wollaert Postgame: Maryland
Friday, November 15
