MADISON, N.J. -- FDU-Florham senior midfielder Niki Ikeda (Lawrence, N.J.) netted the game's lone goal as the Devils field hockey team topped Delaware Valley College 1-0 in a crucial Freedom Conference matchup on Friday night at Robert T. Shields Field.

Ikeda's goal was the fifth of the season for the All-Freedom Conference midfielder. With the win, the Devils improve to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in Freedom Conference play, while the Aggies drop to 6-10 with a 1-3 mark in the conference.

FDU-Florham played the role of aggressor in the first half. Two minutes into the game, the Devils earned the first penalty corner but sophomore Erin O'Connell's (Linwood, N.J.) shot attempt sailed wide and the game remained scoreless.

Over the final five minutes of the half, the Devils battled for four penalty corners and senior Katelin Leibner (Jackson, N.J.) fired two shots but FDU-Florham was unable to find the back of the cage. The Devils outshot the Aggies 6-2 and totaled eight penalty corners over the first 35 minutes of action but the contest went to the break knotted at 0-0.

In the second half, the Devils continued the pressure and kept the ball in Delaware Valley's end of the field for the majority of the stanza. The effort finally paid off at the 43:12 mark when Kim Davis (Long Branch, N.J.) sent a penalty corner to the top of the circle and Ikeda hammered a rocket into the far side of the cage for the game's decisive goal. FDU-Florham maintained possession and played stellar defense for the remainder of the contest to seal the one-goal victory.

The Devils defense was outstanding in the win led by O'Connell and freshman Lauren Brannan (Orefield, Pa.), who helped limit the Aggies to just two shots on goal on the night. Amy Defnet (Poolesville, Md.) made the start in net for FDU-Florham and stopped two shots to earn her sixth victory of the season.

For the Aggies, senior forward Jessica Summers tallied two of the team's four shots in the loss.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham heads on the road to St. Davids, Pa. for a Freedom Conference tilt against Eastern University next Wednesday, October 22nd with start time set for 4 p.m.