Dover, Del. (Feb. 28, 2015) --- Delaware State trimmed a seven-goal halftime deficit to four in the second half, but could get no closer in a 14-8 loss to Wilmington in the Hornets' 2015 home opener at Alumni Stadium today.
Sara LeBrun and Madeline Hewitt scored three goals each to each to lead Wilmington's 36-shot attack. Ashley Kroll and La'Dae Boykin scored two goals each, while Gabby Spalt had four assists to lead all players with four points for the Wildcats.
Sierra Harris came off the bench to post two of Delaware State's season-high eight goals. Emily Etkins, Miranda Hawkins and Brionna Watkins each recorded a goal and an assist to also collect two points for the Hornets.
Wilmington scored first on a goal by Hewitt at the 23:32 mark of the first half.
Delaware State evened the contest when Harris notched her first goal of the game less than two minutes later.
The Wildcats led 3-1 when Hornet freshman Lauren Perry scored her first career goal on an unassisted shot with 16:55 left in the opening period.
Wilmington responded with a six-goal run to open up a 9-2 lead. LeBrun had two scores and Hewitt notched her second goal of the game during the spurt.
Delaware State started quickly in the second period. Harris scored for the second time in the game (28:22) and Etkins found the net less than three minutes later to cut the Wildcats' lead to 9-4.
After Hewitt scored for the third time in the game to give Wilmington a six-goal lead, the Hornets again scored back-to-back goals to pull to within four.
Megan Card scored off a feed from Iman Hassan and Hawkins notched her first goal of the season to cut Wilmington's lead to 10-6 at the 14:02 mark of the second period.
The teams traded scores over the next four minutes to give Wilmington an 11-7 advantage. The Wildcats scored three of the last four goals to secure the win.
The Hornets matched their season high with 10 shots on goal in the game.
Delaware State goal keeper Rhian Sellers had a season-high 10 saves, while Wilmington keeper Corinne Dries rejected eight shots in the contest.
The Hornets will continue their season-long three-game homestand on Monday against Robert Morris. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. DSU will wrap-up the homestand on Thursday against Howard (4 p.m.).
