Just a couple thoughts on Saturday 10-6 win. The two themes from the game versus Binghamton - Joe Lenskold dominated at the face-off X (winning 14 of 20) and the defense played terrific following a bit of a sketchy start.
The early part of this game reminded me a lot of the St. Joe's game where they Hens won a ton of face-offs and scored 5 quick first qtr goals. But they could not pull away from the Bearcats because of a three or four early defensive lapses. The early goals from Binghamton came off of untimely slides on defense leaving the shooter alone with time and room from 10 yards out. The Hens were playing aggressive defense against Joe Licata, the jitterbug middie/attackman, who was quarterbacking the Bearcats offense. The initial double team came early but the second slide never arrived leaving the Bearcat shooters wide open. The good news is that the Hens quickly figured this out and held Binghamton to just two goals in the second half.
Matt DeLuca was great in net and the close defense of Strassner, Haynes and McCormick played a nearly flawless game against a pretty talented attack unit.
Coach DeLuca again tried a bunch of combinations at midfield. Started Reid, DiSimone and Miller and then trotted out the second midfield of Finigan, Hirshmann and Konkel and a third group with Finigan, Kivinski and Ward. It was good to see Kinvinski back out on the field. He had a great dodge inside but was stuffed on a low shot from in close. Also great to see Stephen Hirschmann get his first career goal on a beautiful dodge from the wing.
Onto Homewood on Saturday.
Delaware 2019
Re: Delaware 2019
The Hens have a big game this weekend versus Johns Hopkins at legendary Homewood Field. I’d love to think positively about this game as a long-time fan of the UD team, but it gets tougher every year as I take a trip down misery…I mean memory lane.
Let’s get this out of the way right now. The Hens have never beaten the Blue Jays. NEVER. They are 0-9 going back to 1980 when the Hens lost to a very strong Hopkins squad 19-6. It got slightly better the next year when they only lost 18-9. 1982 was a mess, with the Hens losing 22-6. Fortunately, I didn’t witness any of those games.
The Hens sort of closed the gap in 1983 when Shills brought a very competitive squad led by freshmen attackman Randy Powers and GB machine Steve Shaw at midfield, among others, down to Baltimore for a battle that was ultimately lost 15-10. Maybe a moral victory (?) but still 0 and 4 and counting.
The two teams would meet again a year later in the 1984 quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament when the 8th ranked Hens fell yet again to #1 Hopkins 10-3. Hopkins had an unbelievably talented team led by attackmen Brian Wood and Peter Scott. Team was loaded with talent like the Hall of Famers Del Dressel and Larry Quinn along with the late John Krumenacker, Willy Odenthal, Chris Schreiber and John Tucker. Hated that team! Not really. Alas the Jays went on to win the National Championship over the Tim Nelson/Brad Kotz-led Syracuse Orangemen AT the University of Delaware (to add insult to injury). 0 and 5.
Crazily enough, the two teams didn’t meet up again for another 23 years! But when they did it was a pretty big deal. The Hens and Jays tangled again in Baltimore at M&T Stadium for the National Championship semi-final game in front of 58,000 fans. From what I recall (I might have had a couple cocktails that day) Jays goalie Jesse Schwartzmann played a solid game and the Paul Rabil-led Blue Jays took down the Cinderella Hens 8-3 in a fairly uneventful match up. 0 and 6.
Hopkins and UD met up for two years in a row for mid-week games in ’11 and ’12. The Hens were murdered by Zach Palmer and Kyle Wharton in the freezing snow-filled stadium 18-5 in 2011. But in 2012 at Homewood, UD made a mad scramble at the end of the game coming back from a 7-2 deficit to make it a one goal game before Ranagan hit an empty netter with the clock winding down to win 8-6. 0 and 8.
Last year, UD took an 8-7 lead late into the third quarter at Homewood before they wore down and JHU scored a late third quarter goal to tie and then went on to outscore the Hens SIX to ZERO in the 4th quarter. Hens lose 14-8.
So that is how we got to 0 and 9.
What to look for this weekend: Hens have to be competitive on face-offs and GBs to have a chance. The Blue Jays, statistically, are just average at the face-off x winning exactly 50% of the draws. Kyle Prouty is at 57% and Matt Narewski is at 48%. But those stats don’t really tell the story. Hopkins has been overall pretty strong on face-offs. I am sure that Hop fans noticed that they struggled mightily against Towson’s Woodall winning just 7 of 25 but really held their own against Savio at Loyola. For the rest of the games with the exception of Syracuse where the Prouty/Narewksi combo went 11 for 28, they have done just fine. Anyway, Hens have to battle on the wings to have a chance.
Defense is going to be challenged bigtime with Epstein quarterbacking the Jays offense. I assume Austin Haynes will be assigned the role of shutting him down. Cole Williams is admittedly struggling with his shooting (18%). But that can change in a hurry if he is left open for a lefty shot on the wing. The Hens have to be careful with aggressive doubles on Epstein from X and make sure to have a secondary slide waiting. Both Williams and Marr are assassins when left open. Absolutely, killed them last year.
Not sure what to expect from Hens offense. They are hit or miss this year. I would hope that the Hens look for opportunities to play fast and score in unsettled situations. They sometimes get stagnant in 6 x 6 and rely too much on feeding the crease, which often leads to turnovers. The Hens laid an egg at Villanova a couple weekends back. Hoping that they can stay competitive and try to end this misery once and for all. Should be fun.
I apologize for the long post. Wanted people to understand the extent of this futility. Hoping things change. We shall see.
Let’s get this out of the way right now. The Hens have never beaten the Blue Jays. NEVER. They are 0-9 going back to 1980 when the Hens lost to a very strong Hopkins squad 19-6. It got slightly better the next year when they only lost 18-9. 1982 was a mess, with the Hens losing 22-6. Fortunately, I didn’t witness any of those games.
The Hens sort of closed the gap in 1983 when Shills brought a very competitive squad led by freshmen attackman Randy Powers and GB machine Steve Shaw at midfield, among others, down to Baltimore for a battle that was ultimately lost 15-10. Maybe a moral victory (?) but still 0 and 4 and counting.
The two teams would meet again a year later in the 1984 quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament when the 8th ranked Hens fell yet again to #1 Hopkins 10-3. Hopkins had an unbelievably talented team led by attackmen Brian Wood and Peter Scott. Team was loaded with talent like the Hall of Famers Del Dressel and Larry Quinn along with the late John Krumenacker, Willy Odenthal, Chris Schreiber and John Tucker. Hated that team! Not really. Alas the Jays went on to win the National Championship over the Tim Nelson/Brad Kotz-led Syracuse Orangemen AT the University of Delaware (to add insult to injury). 0 and 5.
Crazily enough, the two teams didn’t meet up again for another 23 years! But when they did it was a pretty big deal. The Hens and Jays tangled again in Baltimore at M&T Stadium for the National Championship semi-final game in front of 58,000 fans. From what I recall (I might have had a couple cocktails that day) Jays goalie Jesse Schwartzmann played a solid game and the Paul Rabil-led Blue Jays took down the Cinderella Hens 8-3 in a fairly uneventful match up. 0 and 6.
Hopkins and UD met up for two years in a row for mid-week games in ’11 and ’12. The Hens were murdered by Zach Palmer and Kyle Wharton in the freezing snow-filled stadium 18-5 in 2011. But in 2012 at Homewood, UD made a mad scramble at the end of the game coming back from a 7-2 deficit to make it a one goal game before Ranagan hit an empty netter with the clock winding down to win 8-6. 0 and 8.
Last year, UD took an 8-7 lead late into the third quarter at Homewood before they wore down and JHU scored a late third quarter goal to tie and then went on to outscore the Hens SIX to ZERO in the 4th quarter. Hens lose 14-8.
So that is how we got to 0 and 9.
What to look for this weekend: Hens have to be competitive on face-offs and GBs to have a chance. The Blue Jays, statistically, are just average at the face-off x winning exactly 50% of the draws. Kyle Prouty is at 57% and Matt Narewski is at 48%. But those stats don’t really tell the story. Hopkins has been overall pretty strong on face-offs. I am sure that Hop fans noticed that they struggled mightily against Towson’s Woodall winning just 7 of 25 but really held their own against Savio at Loyola. For the rest of the games with the exception of Syracuse where the Prouty/Narewksi combo went 11 for 28, they have done just fine. Anyway, Hens have to battle on the wings to have a chance.
Defense is going to be challenged bigtime with Epstein quarterbacking the Jays offense. I assume Austin Haynes will be assigned the role of shutting him down. Cole Williams is admittedly struggling with his shooting (18%). But that can change in a hurry if he is left open for a lefty shot on the wing. The Hens have to be careful with aggressive doubles on Epstein from X and make sure to have a secondary slide waiting. Both Williams and Marr are assassins when left open. Absolutely, killed them last year.
Not sure what to expect from Hens offense. They are hit or miss this year. I would hope that the Hens look for opportunities to play fast and score in unsettled situations. They sometimes get stagnant in 6 x 6 and rely too much on feeding the crease, which often leads to turnovers. The Hens laid an egg at Villanova a couple weekends back. Hoping that they can stay competitive and try to end this misery once and for all. Should be fun.
I apologize for the long post. Wanted people to understand the extent of this futility. Hoping things change. We shall see.
Last edited by Henpecked on Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Delaware 2019
Those were some very good Delaware teams. Nobody was competitive with Hopkins then, really.Henpecked wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:09 pm They are 0-9 going back to 1980 when the Hens lost to a very strong Hopkins squad 19-6. It got slightly better the next year when they only lost 18-9. 1982 was a mess, with the Hens losing 22-6. Fortunately, I didn’t witness any of those games.
The Hens sort of closed the gap in 1983 when Shills brought a very competitive squad led by freshmen attackman Randy Powers and GB machine Steve Shaw at midfield, among others, down to Baltimore for a battle that was ultimately lost 15-10. Maybe a moral victory (?) but still 0 and 4 and counting.
The two teams would meet again a year later in the 1984 quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament when the 8th ranked Hens fell yet again to #1 Hopkins 10-3. Hopkins had an unbelievably talented team led by attackmen Brian Wood and Peter Scott. Team was loaded with talent like the Hall of Famers Del Dressel and Larry Quinn along with the late John Krumenacker, Willy Odenthal, Chris Schreiber and John Tucker. Hated that team! Not really. Alas the Jays went on to win the National Championship over the Tim Nelson/Brad Kotz-led Syracuse Orangemen AT the University of Delaware (to add insult to injury). 0 and 5.
Those Hens had Bobby Davis, Mike ‘Moses’ Marone, Richie Fitch a real good grinder middie, Bill Clinton, Rod Roberts, Drew Jones. They seemed to get most of the top SE PA players. I was surprised they didn’t get Peter Scott out of Harriton. But Scott was different from all the other players. He did a PG year at Lawrenceville, and then was All American, starting for 3 straight finals teams. That ‘84 team was something else, undefeated, Larry Quinn was unreal in the finals. A great day in Delaware, the field, grass was in perfect condition that day, where unfortunately Tim Nelson was injured early in that game.
I saw the 1979 finals at Maryland. A muddy field, Hopkins defense absolutely crushed the Terps attack, crushing anyone that tried to cross the crease area, our own LP Hopkins #38 was on that team. A totally dominating defense that year.
Re: Delaware 2019
Love the Bill Clinton reference and all the others. Great overview by Henpecked. I watched Hopkins Mount last night and the Hens will have their hands full. They have so many people that can score for the Blue Jays. Plus the goalie looked great, that being said I think the Hens have a punchers chance. Need to score early and win the ground ball battle. Should be a good one.
Re: Delaware 2019
Bill Clinton was a terrific lacrosse player, a scoring long stick defense man before there was even any such position, a star out of West Chester in football and lacrosse, a big pickup for Delaware, played on those Moses Marone teams. Had coached with Jon Heisman, Shanahan coach, in Heisman’s summer camps.
Re: Delaware 2019
I played with Billy on club teams around Philly for years, great player and I witnessed him hit some people that would result in a jail sentence today. Moved like a cat for a big man. He is doing well, has a few boys playing.10stone5 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:42 amBill Clinton was a terrific lacrosse player, a scoring long stick defense man before there was even any such position, a star out of West Chester in football and lacrosse, a big pickup for Delaware, played on those Moses Marone teams. Had coached with Jon Heisman, Shanahan coach, in Heisman’s summer camps.
Re: Delaware 2019
That was a tough loss yesterday at Homewood for a game that was very winnable. Hens had a 10-8 lead with just over six minutes left in the game before losing some discipline on defense. Some bad penalties and overall lack of focus on covering outside shooters, and just like that the Jays scored four straight goals and the game was over.
We were left listening to that god-forsaken band and the unbearable fans screaming that they want more. That stupid f'n song is maddening - and I am sure that is its sole purpose. I remember attending the National Championship up in Ithaca in 1980 as a very young kid. Halfway through the game I started rooting for Virginia just to stop the Hopkins band from playing that stupid song. I know...sour grapes.
Anyway, I would like to think that the Hens learned something from this game. But it is the same lesson they should have learned from last year's game when they lost a late lead to Hopkins and never recovered. The Hens looked a little overwhelmed the first five minutes and the last five minutes of the game. In between, they played solid defense and took care of the ball on each possession.
The Hens were pretty even on GBs even though they lost 20 of 26 face-offs. The team battled hard all day on the wings. UD scored five goals in unsettled situations including a man-down goal in transition and an errant pass that somehow found freshman Kyle Kivinski in open space. Overall, I thought that they were also pretty efficient during 6 x 6 and only had 11 turnovers on the day. In the second half the Hens created a lot of offensive opportunities with a nice two-man game at X. This created some mismatches and early slides on Hopkins defense that led to some time and room shots from middies and a sweet goal from freshman Clay Miller.
It was great to see freshman defenseman Owen Grant play his first career game. I really believe that Grant can be a game-changer on defense as evidenced by his 3 GBs and SIX caused turnovers. He reminds me a little bit of UMass' Isaac Paparo - aggressive and always looking to get the ball moving quickly the other way. During the fall ball games in Philly he terrorized opposing attackmen and middies all day.
The seniors are definitely making the most of their final season. Senior Joe Eisele played a flawless game at attack with 4 goals and an assist. And senior Austin Haynes did a bunch of dirty work that didn't necessarily show up in the stats. He had 5 GBs but was very active all day wreaking havoc on defense. Senior Dean DiSimone also had a nice game. For the most part this season teams are putting a long pole on Dean at midfield. He looks like he is adjusting to the role of playmaker in recent weeks.
One more warm up game out in Ann Arbor before the real season begins. While some CAA teams are struggling a bit, I am not sure that there is an "easy" game in the conference, once again.
We were left listening to that god-forsaken band and the unbearable fans screaming that they want more. That stupid f'n song is maddening - and I am sure that is its sole purpose. I remember attending the National Championship up in Ithaca in 1980 as a very young kid. Halfway through the game I started rooting for Virginia just to stop the Hopkins band from playing that stupid song. I know...sour grapes.
Anyway, I would like to think that the Hens learned something from this game. But it is the same lesson they should have learned from last year's game when they lost a late lead to Hopkins and never recovered. The Hens looked a little overwhelmed the first five minutes and the last five minutes of the game. In between, they played solid defense and took care of the ball on each possession.
The Hens were pretty even on GBs even though they lost 20 of 26 face-offs. The team battled hard all day on the wings. UD scored five goals in unsettled situations including a man-down goal in transition and an errant pass that somehow found freshman Kyle Kivinski in open space. Overall, I thought that they were also pretty efficient during 6 x 6 and only had 11 turnovers on the day. In the second half the Hens created a lot of offensive opportunities with a nice two-man game at X. This created some mismatches and early slides on Hopkins defense that led to some time and room shots from middies and a sweet goal from freshman Clay Miller.
It was great to see freshman defenseman Owen Grant play his first career game. I really believe that Grant can be a game-changer on defense as evidenced by his 3 GBs and SIX caused turnovers. He reminds me a little bit of UMass' Isaac Paparo - aggressive and always looking to get the ball moving quickly the other way. During the fall ball games in Philly he terrorized opposing attackmen and middies all day.
The seniors are definitely making the most of their final season. Senior Joe Eisele played a flawless game at attack with 4 goals and an assist. And senior Austin Haynes did a bunch of dirty work that didn't necessarily show up in the stats. He had 5 GBs but was very active all day wreaking havoc on defense. Senior Dean DiSimone also had a nice game. For the most part this season teams are putting a long pole on Dean at midfield. He looks like he is adjusting to the role of playmaker in recent weeks.
One more warm up game out in Ann Arbor before the real season begins. While some CAA teams are struggling a bit, I am not sure that there is an "easy" game in the conference, once again.
Last edited by Henpecked on Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Delaware 2019
I learned my lesson at the ‘79 game.
Sitting on the Hopkins side.
Course they got schooled in 1981, lost in a great game, the 1981 finals. I always thought it was a mistake letting Willy Scroggs go.
Anyway, the Hens.
Rewatched that game, very entertaining, Hopkins’ talent just took over at the end, and yes Grant is a machine.
Re: Delaware 2019
Saturday in Ann Arbor presents another challenge for the road warrior Hens as they take on the Michigan Wolverines for the fourth time in program history. The Hens won the first two games in 2012 and 2013 (11-7 away and 12-5 at home). UD went cross country in 2016 for a match up with Michigan in Costa Mesa, CA. The Hens lost that game in Shills swansong year by being outscored 6-2 in the second half and losing 10-7.
So here we are three years later with two new coaching staffs, at a point in the schedule that many would consider a crossroads for both teams. The Wolverines began this spring with very high expectations, as several publications them ranked as high as 18th in the country. After reading the forums recently, it seems that there are a few Michigan fans that are a bit disappointed with the current 3-4 record. Losses to Yale and Notre Dame were somewhat expected. But the home loss to Drexel in double OT and disappointing outing against what seemed like a floundering Marquette squad were not what the Michigan faithful had in mind for year two with Coach Conry. And the thing that makes this weekend’s game vs the Hens all the more important for Michigan, is that it will be the last OOC contest before heading into what seems like an incredibly daunting Big10 schedule.
For Delaware, they’ve won all of the games they were expected to win, and have lost both of the games in which they deemed the underdog. And similar to Michigan, this will be the last OOC game for the Hens before heading into the always unpredictable CAA. This game will be a litmus test for the Hens before beginning the CAA schedule out on the road versus two teams that have recently found their bearings, Fairfield and Drexel. A slow start in the CAA would not be a good sign for UD since they finish the regular season with consecutive games against the two toughest teams in the conference at home vs Towson and on the road vs UMass. So this is really the last warm up before the real season begins for UD. It will certainly be a tough test against the very physical and talented Michigan squad. But I am hoping that it’s a game that helps them tighten up the D and get more flow going on offense.
So a crossroads game in Ann Arbor – What can we expect? Well, for one thing, the Hens should expect a relentless effort from the young Wolverine attack unit of Alex Buckanavage (17g 13a), Kevin Mack (12 g 12a) and Bryce Clay (15 g 5a). This group of sophs and one freshman play a quick-strike game from X. Buckanavage is a bit unorthodox at times (think Ryder Garnsey) and relies on pure will at times to get to the cage. He is shooting at an outrageously efficient 41% rate (17 goals on just 41 shots). I saw him light up Drexel with 4g and 3a last month in a game where is really commanded the offense. Kevin Mack is a stud from Manhasset who is equally adept at shooting and setting up teammates for easy goals. If those two weren’t scary enough they are joined by lefty freshman off-ball attackman Bryce Clay who has 15 goals on just 30 shots in 6 games.
Not sure if pre-season All-American candidate Brent Noseworthy will be back for this game (he missed the last two games vs Marquette and ND) but he could present a match-up problem at middie/attack. He is 6’ 4” and 220 lbs with a cannon of a shot.
So, where is Michigan vulnerable? Michigan, like Delaware, suffers from inconsistency at the face-off X due to an injury to their starter (sound familiar?). They are winning just 39% of draws and won just 4 of 24 versus Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Hens will have to scrap hard on the wings all day.
But face-offs haven’t stopped the Wolverines from putting up gaudy offensive numbers - scoring 12 goals a game against some pretty tough competition. On the negative side, they have given up a ton of goals too. While lefty goalie Tommy Heidt has a respectable save percentage of .505, the team is still giving up just a tick under 13 goals per game (12.8). That is a lot coming from a team led by former MD defensive wizard, Kevin Conry.
Key for the Hens: Obviously, it will be important to key in on Buckanavage on offense and keep the slippery freshman Clay from finding time and room for easy goals. But most importantly, the Hens will have to open up the offense a little bit. It is going to be tough to hold Michigan to under 11 goals (A top-ranked defense like ND defense held them to 9). If the Hens can play a quicker pace on offense and lock down Buckanavage and Co, they can win by getting to 12 goals first…something they have only done twice this season.
Looking forward to watching. We shall see.
So here we are three years later with two new coaching staffs, at a point in the schedule that many would consider a crossroads for both teams. The Wolverines began this spring with very high expectations, as several publications them ranked as high as 18th in the country. After reading the forums recently, it seems that there are a few Michigan fans that are a bit disappointed with the current 3-4 record. Losses to Yale and Notre Dame were somewhat expected. But the home loss to Drexel in double OT and disappointing outing against what seemed like a floundering Marquette squad were not what the Michigan faithful had in mind for year two with Coach Conry. And the thing that makes this weekend’s game vs the Hens all the more important for Michigan, is that it will be the last OOC contest before heading into what seems like an incredibly daunting Big10 schedule.
For Delaware, they’ve won all of the games they were expected to win, and have lost both of the games in which they deemed the underdog. And similar to Michigan, this will be the last OOC game for the Hens before heading into the always unpredictable CAA. This game will be a litmus test for the Hens before beginning the CAA schedule out on the road versus two teams that have recently found their bearings, Fairfield and Drexel. A slow start in the CAA would not be a good sign for UD since they finish the regular season with consecutive games against the two toughest teams in the conference at home vs Towson and on the road vs UMass. So this is really the last warm up before the real season begins for UD. It will certainly be a tough test against the very physical and talented Michigan squad. But I am hoping that it’s a game that helps them tighten up the D and get more flow going on offense.
So a crossroads game in Ann Arbor – What can we expect? Well, for one thing, the Hens should expect a relentless effort from the young Wolverine attack unit of Alex Buckanavage (17g 13a), Kevin Mack (12 g 12a) and Bryce Clay (15 g 5a). This group of sophs and one freshman play a quick-strike game from X. Buckanavage is a bit unorthodox at times (think Ryder Garnsey) and relies on pure will at times to get to the cage. He is shooting at an outrageously efficient 41% rate (17 goals on just 41 shots). I saw him light up Drexel with 4g and 3a last month in a game where is really commanded the offense. Kevin Mack is a stud from Manhasset who is equally adept at shooting and setting up teammates for easy goals. If those two weren’t scary enough they are joined by lefty freshman off-ball attackman Bryce Clay who has 15 goals on just 30 shots in 6 games.
Not sure if pre-season All-American candidate Brent Noseworthy will be back for this game (he missed the last two games vs Marquette and ND) but he could present a match-up problem at middie/attack. He is 6’ 4” and 220 lbs with a cannon of a shot.
So, where is Michigan vulnerable? Michigan, like Delaware, suffers from inconsistency at the face-off X due to an injury to their starter (sound familiar?). They are winning just 39% of draws and won just 4 of 24 versus Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Hens will have to scrap hard on the wings all day.
But face-offs haven’t stopped the Wolverines from putting up gaudy offensive numbers - scoring 12 goals a game against some pretty tough competition. On the negative side, they have given up a ton of goals too. While lefty goalie Tommy Heidt has a respectable save percentage of .505, the team is still giving up just a tick under 13 goals per game (12.8). That is a lot coming from a team led by former MD defensive wizard, Kevin Conry.
Key for the Hens: Obviously, it will be important to key in on Buckanavage on offense and keep the slippery freshman Clay from finding time and room for easy goals. But most importantly, the Hens will have to open up the offense a little bit. It is going to be tough to hold Michigan to under 11 goals (A top-ranked defense like ND defense held them to 9). If the Hens can play a quicker pace on offense and lock down Buckanavage and Co, they can win by getting to 12 goals first…something they have only done twice this season.
Looking forward to watching. We shall see.
Last edited by Henpecked on Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Delaware 2019
Michigan gained some confidence in a loss to ND on Tuesday. They played well vs a very good team who they upset last year.
Re: Delaware 2019
Solid win in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Hens look good heading into the CAA where literally anything can happen. You don't have to go to far back to remember 2017 when Delaware beat then Number 1 Rutgers in their final non conference game and then lost five straight to finish 7-8 in Schills last year. Half of this squad was on that team so I don't think they need to be reminded about it. I see a pretty complete squad here, they can put up points, and the defense / goaltending is outstanding. Intangibles will be the difference in the CAA.
The schedule sets up well with a trip to Fairfield, the Drexel away, Hofstra and Towson at home finishing with a trip to UMass. it will be crucial to get the first win Saturday. Towson and Umass are the best right now in the CAA, and Drexel has showed flashes of brilliance, Hofstra and Fairfield not so much.
Lots of Senior leadership, veteran squad, getting no respect in the polls at 7-2, I like where they sit. Thunderdome
The schedule sets up well with a trip to Fairfield, the Drexel away, Hofstra and Towson at home finishing with a trip to UMass. it will be crucial to get the first win Saturday. Towson and Umass are the best right now in the CAA, and Drexel has showed flashes of brilliance, Hofstra and Fairfield not so much.
Lots of Senior leadership, veteran squad, getting no respect in the polls at 7-2, I like where they sit. Thunderdome
Re: Delaware 2019
Write up on recent Culver Academy game.
Reference to UDel Culver recruit.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ssed/54087
Reference to UDel Culver recruit.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ssed/54087
Re: Delaware 2019
The holdup w rising in the polls for UD is the Nova game. Michigan loses Noseworthy & not quite ready to be a top20 team.
Drexel looks solid. Can they get some help in the cage? Certainly battle tested, nice early season SOS.
UMASS has played well. Going to Towson this year could determine home field in the conference.
Towson, needs a small shake up on offense. Going to Ey late in the game who is 1-13 for the season says they need a dodger on midfield. He has to change plains when he shoots. Mclean needs to get back to moving his feet !! Possibly a 4th A rotation. The defense has wiped away the 31 goal weekend in Charlotte & looks v good.
Hofstra has a slim margin. Has to shoot v well @ Towson this Saturday.
Fairfield Will only get better, but will grind it out to get in the CAA tourney.
Heading into the beef of the schedule, should be interesting
Drexel looks solid. Can they get some help in the cage? Certainly battle tested, nice early season SOS.
UMASS has played well. Going to Towson this year could determine home field in the conference.
Towson, needs a small shake up on offense. Going to Ey late in the game who is 1-13 for the season says they need a dodger on midfield. He has to change plains when he shoots. Mclean needs to get back to moving his feet !! Possibly a 4th A rotation. The defense has wiped away the 31 goal weekend in Charlotte & looks v good.
Hofstra has a slim margin. Has to shoot v well @ Towson this Saturday.
Fairfield Will only get better, but will grind it out to get in the CAA tourney.
Heading into the beef of the schedule, should be interesting
Re: Delaware 2019
Nice win in Ann Arbor last Saturday. But now it’s on to the CAA.
Hens travel to Fairfield Saturday to take on the 5-4 Stags. Fairfield had a bumpy start to its season when its star player Colin Burke left the team just before the spring season began. The shell-shocked team went on to lose their home opener to St. Joseph’s 21-10. Since that game, the team has played pretty well overall and beat the teams it was supposed to beat and lost to three higher-ranked squads (Rutgers, Georgetown and Villanova).
Delaware and Fairfield began playing in 2014 - the year before Fairfield entered the CAA. The Stags won the first four games of the series before the Hens finally grabbed their first victory 12-11 in the CAA home opener last year in Newark.
Fairfield and Delaware have played three common opponents - Delaware beat St. Joe’s 14-6 while the Stags lost their home opener to the Hawks 21-10. Both teams beat NJIT by a wide margin and both teams lost to Villanova after having no-show second halves.
What can we expect? Hens can expect to run up against a fairly prolific fast-strike offense led by Dylan Beckwith (21g 23a) who just might be the best offensive player in the CAA. The Stags have decent depth on offense with sophomore sharpshooter Taylor Strough (21g 7a), Travis Ford (17g 4a) and freshman Patrick Drake (10g 7a). Offensively, the Fairfield offense compares favorably to the Hens. Both teams average nearly the same goals per game (Hens 11.1 and Stags 11.2). The only difference is the Stags have an astounding 72 assists on 101 goals while the Hens have a more pedestrian 48 assists on 100 goals. Fairfield moves the ball incredibly well on offense and relies very little on one-on-one play. Interestingly, even with the assist disparity, both teams have an identical shooting percentage at .261.
There should be a pretty good scrum at midfield with each face-off. The Stags FOGO Frankie Labetti is winning at a 57% clip but his head-to-head numbers against common opponents are not nearly as good. I would expect this to be a coin-toss with Joe Lenskold. The wings will ultimately determine the winner of this battle for possession.
The Stags defense gives up 12.4 goals a game and has wilted late in games this year. The Fairfield goalie, James Corasanti is making saves at a .487 rate but actually looks a lot better when you see him play. He gets peppered with a bunch of shots. The Stags are not afraid to play zone and let teams crank from the outside. That has been a staple of Copelan’s defense forever. Worked when they had Tyler Behring in net. Not so much in recent years.
The Hens will need to be patient against the zone and not force shots from outside. The CAA has gained a well-earned reputation for its unpredictability so it’s nearly impossible to guess the outcome for this opening weekend's games. I would think that if the Hens get to 13 goals they should be in good shape as long as they keep Beckwith in check while cutting down on turnovers. We shall see. Looking forward to it.
Hens travel to Fairfield Saturday to take on the 5-4 Stags. Fairfield had a bumpy start to its season when its star player Colin Burke left the team just before the spring season began. The shell-shocked team went on to lose their home opener to St. Joseph’s 21-10. Since that game, the team has played pretty well overall and beat the teams it was supposed to beat and lost to three higher-ranked squads (Rutgers, Georgetown and Villanova).
Delaware and Fairfield began playing in 2014 - the year before Fairfield entered the CAA. The Stags won the first four games of the series before the Hens finally grabbed their first victory 12-11 in the CAA home opener last year in Newark.
Fairfield and Delaware have played three common opponents - Delaware beat St. Joe’s 14-6 while the Stags lost their home opener to the Hawks 21-10. Both teams beat NJIT by a wide margin and both teams lost to Villanova after having no-show second halves.
What can we expect? Hens can expect to run up against a fairly prolific fast-strike offense led by Dylan Beckwith (21g 23a) who just might be the best offensive player in the CAA. The Stags have decent depth on offense with sophomore sharpshooter Taylor Strough (21g 7a), Travis Ford (17g 4a) and freshman Patrick Drake (10g 7a). Offensively, the Fairfield offense compares favorably to the Hens. Both teams average nearly the same goals per game (Hens 11.1 and Stags 11.2). The only difference is the Stags have an astounding 72 assists on 101 goals while the Hens have a more pedestrian 48 assists on 100 goals. Fairfield moves the ball incredibly well on offense and relies very little on one-on-one play. Interestingly, even with the assist disparity, both teams have an identical shooting percentage at .261.
There should be a pretty good scrum at midfield with each face-off. The Stags FOGO Frankie Labetti is winning at a 57% clip but his head-to-head numbers against common opponents are not nearly as good. I would expect this to be a coin-toss with Joe Lenskold. The wings will ultimately determine the winner of this battle for possession.
The Stags defense gives up 12.4 goals a game and has wilted late in games this year. The Fairfield goalie, James Corasanti is making saves at a .487 rate but actually looks a lot better when you see him play. He gets peppered with a bunch of shots. The Stags are not afraid to play zone and let teams crank from the outside. That has been a staple of Copelan’s defense forever. Worked when they had Tyler Behring in net. Not so much in recent years.
The Hens will need to be patient against the zone and not force shots from outside. The CAA has gained a well-earned reputation for its unpredictability so it’s nearly impossible to guess the outcome for this opening weekend's games. I would think that if the Hens get to 13 goals they should be in good shape as long as they keep Beckwith in check while cutting down on turnovers. We shall see. Looking forward to it.
Re: Delaware 2019
Nice win on the road over Fairfield. Hens keep improving on offense while the defense is starting to really gel.
Only one recipient of the weekly award given out this week from the CAA since Tye Kurtz won both Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week. If they still gave out Defensive Player of the Week I think Thomas Aloe or Austin Haynes would have won that too.
https://caasports.com/news/2019/4/1/caa ... ril-1.aspx
Tye Kurtz is really getting better every week. And to consider that the Canadian freshman barely played field lacrosse before joining the Hens, that should scare the rest of the league. 24 goals and 15 assists through 10 games along with 28 GBs and only 10 turnovers. Kid has great instincts - lotta fun to watch.
Another thing to consider down the road, his brother Reed (playmaking middie) is joining the Hens next year.
Only one recipient of the weekly award given out this week from the CAA since Tye Kurtz won both Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week. If they still gave out Defensive Player of the Week I think Thomas Aloe or Austin Haynes would have won that too.
https://caasports.com/news/2019/4/1/caa ... ril-1.aspx
Tye Kurtz is really getting better every week. And to consider that the Canadian freshman barely played field lacrosse before joining the Hens, that should scare the rest of the league. 24 goals and 15 assists through 10 games along with 28 GBs and only 10 turnovers. Kid has great instincts - lotta fun to watch.
Another thing to consider down the road, his brother Reed (playmaking middie) is joining the Hens next year.
Re: Delaware 2019
Game Notes for 4.6.19 UD-DU
This Saturday UD hooks up with Drexel for the 73rd time. The Hens have a decided advantage in the all-time series with a 45-27 record. But if you take a look at the results in the modern era (2000+) the games have been much more competitive. They’ve played 21 times since 2000 - the Dragons winning 11 and Delaware 10 (12 of those games were won by 2 or less goals). The cumulative score of those games is Delaware 198 Drexel 189. Pretty tight alright.
UD beat Drexel last year with a 17-8 slaying of the Dragons on the last night of the CAA regular season which ended its six-year drought. It was a rare stress-free evening in Newark. But if I am guessing correctly, you shouldn’t expect a repeat snoozer on Saturday in West Philly.
Common opponents: UD and Drexel have played three teams in common this season (Villanova, St. Joes and Michigan). Delaware got clobbered by Nova on the Mainline 17-9 while Drexel handled the Wildcats easily in a Sunday afternoon walk in the park 15-10. Both teams beat Michigan and St. Joseph’s – Delaware winning 16-13 over Michigan and 14-6 over St. Joe’s while Drexel beat Michigan in OT 17-16 and St. Joe’s 10-7.
What to expect on Saturday: The Dragons are an efficient unit on offense averaging 12.67 goals per game against very good competition. The offense is led by Matt Varian who has 16g and 13a on the season. Varian is a smallish but super quick attackman who carries the ball a ton and gets banged around a lot. He is very susceptible to turnovers as a result of this style (24 turnovers on the season). Coach DeLuca will probably stick Austin Haynes on Varian because he matches up well speed-wise. Zach Strassner will probably be assigned the more physical Canadian lefty Reid Bowering, who continues to score with alarming efficiency (28 goals and a gaudy .509 shooting percentage). The midfield is led by senior Marshall King, another Canadian sniper who has 15g and 16a on the season. He is joined by the Dragons breakthrough player of the year Colin Mailman, an athletic junior middie who has 12 goals.
Drexel Dragon Defensive Deficiency: Drexel won just one game in the CAA last year and gave up an average of 15 goals a game in those match ups. They started the 2019 season in nearly identical fashion giving up 15.75 goals per game through their first four contests. Since then though they have settled in nicely at defense and have apparently found a full-time goalie in Ross Blumenthal who has an impressive .520 save percentage – a drastic improvement over his two predecessors who were in the 24-37% range.
Three D-men to keep an eye on: Senior SSDM Cam Harris, a nice two-way middie, and sophomore Sean Quinn (28 GBs and 20CTs) are both very physical players who can turn defense into offense in a hurry. Close defenseman Will Stabbert has done a nice job steadying the defense as well. Stabbert stood out against Villanova with 4 CTs and stellar defense on Keegan Khan who had 5 uncharacteristic turnovers in the game. Not sure how these three will handle the improving Hens offense though. Last year, the Hens took advantage of the Drexel shorties. I’d expect them to be patient and find those mismatches again. With a very balanced offense, this Hen’s team doesn’t seem to care who scores.
Face-offs will most likely present a challenge for UD. Jimmeh Koita is winning at .506 percentage and his freshman counterpart Liam Muhly is at .560 from the face-off dot. So we can expect some epic battles on those 50/50 balls off the draws. Some facts that might only interest me: Muhly holds the Gilman records for face-off wins and GBs which is super-impressive when you consider how long as Gilman has been dominating Baltimore lacrosse. Also, his father Dan played a year of lacrosse at Delaware in 1988.
Never sure what to expect when the Hens play the Dragons, but I believe the home team will be playing with a bit of urgency after losing the opener to UMass. Those four spots into the CAA tournament close in a hurry. So I would expect Drexel to be flying all over the field Saturday. That could be good, could be bad - they are averaging close to 19 turnovers a game and sometimes play in a frenetic out-of-control pace. I have mostly given up on predictions for these games but I do like Delaware’s chances for a surprise upset in West Philly if they can keep the Drexel offense to 12 goals. That prediction shouldn’t surprise anyone.
This Saturday UD hooks up with Drexel for the 73rd time. The Hens have a decided advantage in the all-time series with a 45-27 record. But if you take a look at the results in the modern era (2000+) the games have been much more competitive. They’ve played 21 times since 2000 - the Dragons winning 11 and Delaware 10 (12 of those games were won by 2 or less goals). The cumulative score of those games is Delaware 198 Drexel 189. Pretty tight alright.
UD beat Drexel last year with a 17-8 slaying of the Dragons on the last night of the CAA regular season which ended its six-year drought. It was a rare stress-free evening in Newark. But if I am guessing correctly, you shouldn’t expect a repeat snoozer on Saturday in West Philly.
Common opponents: UD and Drexel have played three teams in common this season (Villanova, St. Joes and Michigan). Delaware got clobbered by Nova on the Mainline 17-9 while Drexel handled the Wildcats easily in a Sunday afternoon walk in the park 15-10. Both teams beat Michigan and St. Joseph’s – Delaware winning 16-13 over Michigan and 14-6 over St. Joe’s while Drexel beat Michigan in OT 17-16 and St. Joe’s 10-7.
What to expect on Saturday: The Dragons are an efficient unit on offense averaging 12.67 goals per game against very good competition. The offense is led by Matt Varian who has 16g and 13a on the season. Varian is a smallish but super quick attackman who carries the ball a ton and gets banged around a lot. He is very susceptible to turnovers as a result of this style (24 turnovers on the season). Coach DeLuca will probably stick Austin Haynes on Varian because he matches up well speed-wise. Zach Strassner will probably be assigned the more physical Canadian lefty Reid Bowering, who continues to score with alarming efficiency (28 goals and a gaudy .509 shooting percentage). The midfield is led by senior Marshall King, another Canadian sniper who has 15g and 16a on the season. He is joined by the Dragons breakthrough player of the year Colin Mailman, an athletic junior middie who has 12 goals.
Drexel Dragon Defensive Deficiency: Drexel won just one game in the CAA last year and gave up an average of 15 goals a game in those match ups. They started the 2019 season in nearly identical fashion giving up 15.75 goals per game through their first four contests. Since then though they have settled in nicely at defense and have apparently found a full-time goalie in Ross Blumenthal who has an impressive .520 save percentage – a drastic improvement over his two predecessors who were in the 24-37% range.
Three D-men to keep an eye on: Senior SSDM Cam Harris, a nice two-way middie, and sophomore Sean Quinn (28 GBs and 20CTs) are both very physical players who can turn defense into offense in a hurry. Close defenseman Will Stabbert has done a nice job steadying the defense as well. Stabbert stood out against Villanova with 4 CTs and stellar defense on Keegan Khan who had 5 uncharacteristic turnovers in the game. Not sure how these three will handle the improving Hens offense though. Last year, the Hens took advantage of the Drexel shorties. I’d expect them to be patient and find those mismatches again. With a very balanced offense, this Hen’s team doesn’t seem to care who scores.
Face-offs will most likely present a challenge for UD. Jimmeh Koita is winning at .506 percentage and his freshman counterpart Liam Muhly is at .560 from the face-off dot. So we can expect some epic battles on those 50/50 balls off the draws. Some facts that might only interest me: Muhly holds the Gilman records for face-off wins and GBs which is super-impressive when you consider how long as Gilman has been dominating Baltimore lacrosse. Also, his father Dan played a year of lacrosse at Delaware in 1988.
Never sure what to expect when the Hens play the Dragons, but I believe the home team will be playing with a bit of urgency after losing the opener to UMass. Those four spots into the CAA tournament close in a hurry. So I would expect Drexel to be flying all over the field Saturday. That could be good, could be bad - they are averaging close to 19 turnovers a game and sometimes play in a frenetic out-of-control pace. I have mostly given up on predictions for these games but I do like Delaware’s chances for a surprise upset in West Philly if they can keep the Drexel offense to 12 goals. That prediction shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Re: Delaware 2019
Marshall King is the best player on that team, and to me, it really isn’t close. So really, the coaches have had little choice but to keep him on the field the entire time. He’s been playing high post attack the last year and a half or so, its almost like a Canadian box forward position. So King doesn’t really have to make many moves to goal - just distribute, shoot that wicked shot or hit the open man for the assist. There are games where he has been the best player on the field, more aware than anyone else, seeing everything. The Providence game was like that, King could have had 2-3 more goals, and at least that many assists that weren’t converted.
Unfortunately, King doesn’t have the biggest build and so can be susceptible to injury. It looked to me like he pulled something in the Providence game. King was held out of the UMass game. Also, Drexel has been without Nolan Fox the past two games. Fox is the twin of Nick Fox, and has been a good surprise this year providing good transition off defense after converting to long stick midfield.
A bit long winded.
But I think the point being.
The Hens have some real depth this year, so that’s a key to me.
And also with DeLuca, like Sconone, these large goalies can really wear you down. You might get to them initially as Drexel did against Sconone last week, but then it can get to where a goalie like DeLuca can get to you, as in, how can I beat this guy, low, high, he takes up too much space, too quick, too large.
So, there you go, some random observations.
Unfortunately, King doesn’t have the biggest build and so can be susceptible to injury. It looked to me like he pulled something in the Providence game. King was held out of the UMass game. Also, Drexel has been without Nolan Fox the past two games. Fox is the twin of Nick Fox, and has been a good surprise this year providing good transition off defense after converting to long stick midfield.
A bit long winded.
But I think the point being.
The Hens have some real depth this year, so that’s a key to me.
And also with DeLuca, like Sconone, these large goalies can really wear you down. You might get to them initially as Drexel did against Sconone last week, but then it can get to where a goalie like DeLuca can get to you, as in, how can I beat this guy, low, high, he takes up too much space, too quick, too large.
So, there you go, some random observations.
Re: Delaware 2019
When the CAA season schedule came out I really liked the first three games, Fairfield, Drexel, and Hofstra. I felt then that these three were going to be the easier gaems followed by favorites Towson and UMass. Now the Drexel game looks much more difficult. Delaware finally got off the 6 game Drexel losing streak in convincing fashion last year in Newark. This year Drexel has been in every game they played and beaten a couple of good teams.
Their goaltending has improved and if it continues they will be in every CAA game as well. They face off well and have some legit scorers. I'm not a prediction guy but see this one being close with a big save or two either way making the difference. A win for the Hens would really put them in a great spot to make the CAA playoffs. Delaware is playing well with a lot of confidence, should be a good one.
Their goaltending has improved and if it continues they will be in every CAA game as well. They face off well and have some legit scorers. I'm not a prediction guy but see this one being close with a big save or two either way making the difference. A win for the Hens would really put them in a great spot to make the CAA playoffs. Delaware is playing well with a lot of confidence, should be a good one.
Re: Delaware 2019
Nice win for the Hens. A little sloppy on clears. They have to clean that up.
Drexel’s offense didn’t need all the help they got from the refs (5 man-up goals). At least three head scratchers made that game closer than it needed to be. Even the announcers questioned them.
Well onto Hofstra.
Finally back home next Saturday vs Hofstra. Should be a great game.
9 AND 2!!!!
Drexel’s offense didn’t need all the help they got from the refs (5 man-up goals). At least three head scratchers made that game closer than it needed to be. Even the announcers questioned them.
Well onto Hofstra.
Finally back home next Saturday vs Hofstra. Should be a great game.
9 AND 2!!!!
Re: Delaware 2019
As the Hens head into what they've probably always considered the tough part of their schedule at 9-2, it is really good to see the offense clicking. I talked to a bunch of folks after the Binghamton game and each said the same, thing "if this offense could just get going..."
The Hens are answering that question in a big way. This turnaround has been led by Charlie Kitchen and Dean DiSimone who have both improved tremendously at getting the younger guys involved more in the offense. On Saturday DiSimone had only one assist but he had insane passes to open middies all day for time and room shots that just missed.
Coaches DeLuca and Rewkowski have built a patient offense and the players don't really seem to care who scores, as long as they are finding the open guy or the best matchup to put the ball in the back of the net. Against Hopkins it was Joe Eisele with 4 goals (2 assisted). Against Michigan, Dean DiSimone had the best matchup and went off on the shorties for 6 goals. Against Fairfield, the Hens found Tye Kurtz open for 7 goals (5 assisted). And Saturday Joe Eisele found open space for 5 goals (3 assisted).
Through these four games Kitchen is averaging 5 points a game (2.75 goals and over 2.25 assists). When he is not forcing the issue and distributing more, the Hens are a much better offense.
I have heard from a bunch of folks who think the Hens should be ranked in the top 20. I don't think DeLuca really cares about rankings right now. The Hens have to keep the focus on the CAA and specifically Hofstra, who is coming off a HUGE OT win over UMass Saturday. The Defense will have to play a lot better than they did against Drexel - tons of missed assignments on defense and some really hard-to-explain errors on man-down defense (like sliding to the attackman at X and leaving the wings wide open).
Hofstra is going to be tough test this Saturday in Newark. This will be an unbelievably difficult game as the Hens try to lock up a CAA birth. Hoping for great weather and a big turnout. Should be fun.
The Hens are answering that question in a big way. This turnaround has been led by Charlie Kitchen and Dean DiSimone who have both improved tremendously at getting the younger guys involved more in the offense. On Saturday DiSimone had only one assist but he had insane passes to open middies all day for time and room shots that just missed.
Coaches DeLuca and Rewkowski have built a patient offense and the players don't really seem to care who scores, as long as they are finding the open guy or the best matchup to put the ball in the back of the net. Against Hopkins it was Joe Eisele with 4 goals (2 assisted). Against Michigan, Dean DiSimone had the best matchup and went off on the shorties for 6 goals. Against Fairfield, the Hens found Tye Kurtz open for 7 goals (5 assisted). And Saturday Joe Eisele found open space for 5 goals (3 assisted).
Through these four games Kitchen is averaging 5 points a game (2.75 goals and over 2.25 assists). When he is not forcing the issue and distributing more, the Hens are a much better offense.
I have heard from a bunch of folks who think the Hens should be ranked in the top 20. I don't think DeLuca really cares about rankings right now. The Hens have to keep the focus on the CAA and specifically Hofstra, who is coming off a HUGE OT win over UMass Saturday. The Defense will have to play a lot better than they did against Drexel - tons of missed assignments on defense and some really hard-to-explain errors on man-down defense (like sliding to the attackman at X and leaving the wings wide open).
Hofstra is going to be tough test this Saturday in Newark. This will be an unbelievably difficult game as the Hens try to lock up a CAA birth. Hoping for great weather and a big turnout. Should be fun.