Delaware 2021

[10stone5]

That was a great Hopkins team,
one of the best, I followed them closely because of
Peter Scott, the Harriton connection. Also, Dave Castle,
transferred from Drexel to Hopkins where he was part
of the 1984 and 1985 national champions.
I still don’t know how Shillinglaw got Powers out of West
Genny and away from Syracuse.

[faircornell]

Hats off to the Hens for being the first Northeastern team to get to double digit wins!

[SouthernLaxGenius]

Hats off to the Hens for being the first Northeastern team to get to double digit wins!

What about that team in College Park

All kidding aside, a 1 goal game the last time out against Hofstra.

Any cause for concern (as Tierney only had 2 points) other than face-offs?

[jrn19]

Hats off to the Hens for being the first Northeastern team to get to double digit wins!

What about that team in College Park

All kidding aside, a 1 goal game the last time out against Hofstra.

Any cause for concern (as Tierney only had 2 points) other than face-offs?

It’s the CAA, all these teams can beat each other. But I think Delaware is the best of the group

[Henpecked]

Delaware just keeps winning while dropping down a spot each week in the media poll.

This week the Hens have dropped to #15. I would bet a large sum of money that 75% of the media poll voters haven't watched a single Delaware game this season. And I would bet an even larger sum that none could name the Hens 3 attackmen that are in the top 25 for points per game (the ONLY team with three players in the top 25 - Kitchen 5.0, Kurtz 4.7. Robinson 4.55). Yet when you listen in on Terry Foy and Quint talking about the CAA, they wax poetic about the 4th ranked goalie in the conference (Ross Blumenthal .482 save percentage) and how Drexel has dominated the CAA, while, in reality, it was the Hens who finished 7-1 atop the conference.

Rant aside, the Hens finished out the season in good form beating UMass 9-6 in a game where UD outshot and out-groundballed the Minutemen by a lot and held them to ZERO goals in the second half. Corpulent netminder Matt Knote stood on his head to limit the Hens to just 9 goals, although you could argue the Hens were just milking the clock the last 7 minutes of that game. That guy will be scary to face for any team in the CAA tourney. He gobbles up shots like they are double cheeseburgers at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The game this Thursday (which should have been scheduled for Newark) will be a real test for the Hens. The last game with Hofstra was nearly a statistical draw. Fortunately, the Hens scored 7 fourth quarter goals and pulled off an historic comeback in Hempstead. As always with the CAA, expect the unexpected. But for the first time in forever, you don't have to worry about Towson hoisting the trophy.

[10stone5]

They have to go on the school’s web sites or Lax Sports
Network -
Not ESPN or ACCN
- stream the games, go to archived games, know
which games to watch, know the players,

its a lot of lot of work !!
/sarc

[Henpecked]

I feel like Frank Constanza on Festivus today, airing all my personal grievances. But one final thing...maybe two?

I could give a rat's behind about rankings. But the lack of critical thinking behind the ranking bothers me a bit. Like why is Drexel ranked ahead of Delaware?

It is most likely because they beat them by 3 the last time they played a month ago. But why do they discount the previous match-up when the Hens curb stomped them in Philly? Or why don't they look at conference games where the Hens have dominated play? Who is playing the best now?

The Dragons were 6-2 in conference with a goal differential of +10 on the season.
The Hens were 7-1 in conference with a goal differential of +30 on the season.

One team was clearly in first place while the other was clearly the 2nd place team.

Yet TWO is ranked above ONE. You wouldn't see that in the ACC.

And by the way, I am not making any predictions about the CAA tournament outcome. I am just stating facts. Drexel and Delaware are both very talented teams.

The final final thing. This morning on the Terry Foy and Quint Kessenich's "Experts on Everything" podcast, they talked about how stupid and arbitrary it was for the CAA conference to make up tie-breaker rules by committee on the fly. I don't think that it was terribly complicated to figure out the tie-breaker between UMass and Hofstra. They played twice and split the games. UMass won one game by 6 and Hofstra won the other by 1 goal. UMass got the #3 seed based on goal differential head-to-head. NOT ARBITRARY. NOT STUPID. They really do know nothing about the CAA, yet they feel compelled to weigh in every week.

"Serenity NOW!"

(I know that doesn't work)

[10stone5]

IL doesn’t like the Colonial at all.
Why ?

Because under $2 billion in endowments means that
school really doesn’t exist.
And, no top 10 scholastically US News and World Report
rankings ?
They don’t exist.
May have well have gone to a community college.

[courtdog]

I feel like Frank Constanza on Festivus today, airing all my personal grievances. But one final thing...maybe two?

I could give a rat's behind about rankings. But the lack of critical thinking behind the ranking bothers me a bit. Like why is Drexel ranked ahead of Delaware?

It is most likely because they beat them by 3 the last time they played a month ago. But why do they discount the previous match-up when the Hens curb stomped them in Philly? Or why don't they look at conference games where the Hens have dominated play? Who is playing the best now?

The Dragons were 6-2 in conference with a goal differential of +10 on the season.
The Hens were 7-1 in conference with a goal differential of +30 on the season.

One team was clearly in first place while the other was clearly the 2nd place team.

Yet TWO is ranked above ONE. You wouldn't see that in the ACC.

And by the way, I am not making any predictions about the CAA tournament outcome. I am just stating facts. Drexel and Delaware are both very talented teams.

The final final thing. This morning on the Terry Foy and Quint Kessenich's "Experts on Everything" podcast, they talked about how stupid and arbitrary it was for the CAA conference to make up tie-breaker rules by committee on the fly. I don't think that it was terribly complicated to figure out the tie-breaker between UMass and Hofstra. They played twice and split the games. UMass won one game by 6 and Hofstra won the other by 1 goal. UMass got the #3 seed based on goal differential head-to-head. NOT ARBITRARY. NOT STUPID. They really do know nothing about the CAA, yet they feel compelled to weigh in every week.

"Serenity NOW!"

(I know that doesn't work)

Probably just because they beat them more recently and maybe because UD played Fairfield twice. Drexel had to play Umass / Towson twice. Your arguments are very valid though and most of the poll doesn't make sense. I would wager almost 85% of the voters haven't watched a full quarter of CAA lacrosse

[Henpecked]

I understand that argument but take away the Fairfield games for each team and the Drexel numbers are even worse. Drexel would have been -2 without the 12 goal victory over Fairfield. Delaware would still be +17 without those games. And Delaware would have loved to play UMass twice. They totally dominated them. And finally the Towson argument doesn’t hold up either. Delaware played them twice like Drexel. The only difference is they won both of those games by 9 combined goals and Drexel beat them by 3 combined goals.

It’s all a very silly argument. And personally I don’t care. It’s just curious to me why everyone thinks Drexel is better than Delaware. What if there was no CAA tournament, would the selection committee choose Drexel over Delaware? That would make zero sense. Maybe I’m wrong, but the facts don’t back any claim to Drexel superiority. It’s all a moot point since neither is getting an at large bid. We will see who comes out on top this week.

[Mr3Putt]

I understand that argument but take away the Fairfield games for each team and the Drexel numbers are even worse. Drexel would have been -2 without the 12 goal victory over Fairfield. Delaware would still be +17 without those games. And Delaware would have loved to play UMass twice. They totally dominated them. And finally the Towson argument doesn’t hold up either. Delaware played them twice like Drexel. The only difference is they won both of those games by 9 combined goals and Drexel beat them by 3 combined goals.

It’s all a very silly argument. And personally I don’t care. It’s just curious to me why everyone thinks Drexel is better than Delaware. What if there was no CAA tournament, would the selection committee choose Drexel over Delaware? That would make zero sense. Maybe I’m wrong, but the facts don’t back any claim to Drexel superiority. It’s all a moot point since neither is getting an at large bid. We will see who comes out on top this week.

Throw out the first matchup vs Drexel because the Dragons were basically a month behind everyone else. The second matchup Drexel won 12-9 correct? Delaware is a strong tendency team. That helps Durkin break down the Del offense when they play Saturday. A slight factor will be how hard the Thursday games will
be for Drex & Del. Umass can’t score, and Hofstra can’t play a clean game .

[Henpecked]

That’s a good idea. Just throw out the first game. That works for your argument.

You would have to agree that Nadelen is a great coach? How did he do with Delaware’s “tendencies” the second time around with the Hens? The answer is “not great.”

Again, really terrible arguments about Drexel superiority. Dragons are a very good team that could very well win the CAA. But I’ve never seen a second place team ranked ahead of the first place team. Especially when all the stats are on Delaware’s side.

[courtdog]

That’s a good idea. Just throw out the first game. That works for your argument.

You would have to agree that Nadelen is a great coach? How did he do with Delaware’s “tendencies” the second time around with the Hens? The answer is “not great.”

Again, really terrible arguments about Drexel superiority. Dragons are a very good team that could very well win the CAA. But I’ve never seen a second place team ranked ahead of the first place team. Especially when all the stats are on Delaware’s side.

I agree, it doesn't make sense. I was only saying maybe why some in the polls put them there just based on the recency of the win. I think UD is a better team and with that attack do some serious damage.

[badassmotherclucker]

(deleted)

[Henpecked]

It has been a LONG time since the Hens have won the CAA tournament. In both 2010 and 2011 the Hens won the CAA Championship and were then matched up with ACC foes UNC and Duke in the first round of the NCAAs, losing by a single goal in both games.

Since that time the Hens post-season has not really been too noteworthy. In 2014 they lost a tight first round game 8-6 to Hofstra. Most recently, in 2018 and 2019 the Hens lost both of their first-round games to Towson (2018 in OT 9-8 and 2019 in a blowout loss 18-11).

Coach DeLuca, to his credit, has accumulated an impressive 13-5 regular season CAA record since taking over in 2018. But the Hens won’t be over the hump till they get to a championship game.

It will not be easy.

Hofstra has a ton of great athletes at midfield who can gain separation and take accurate shots from inside 10 yards. James Philbin is a physical dodger with a pretty deadly shot, while Justin Sykes and Riley Forte are lightning quick middies who are adept passers off the dodge. Coach Tierney also plays middies Bryce Tolmie, Sterlyn Ardrey and behemoth Canadian Ryan Sheridan extensively. Deep athletic group.

Of course the Hens will need to focus on Ryan Tierney who has a wicked lefty shot that he can get off from nearly any angle possible. Owen Grant will be glued to him throughout the game. Not sure if Concannon will play (he didn’t play in the last game), but the attack of Tierney, Justin Lynskey and Dylan McIntosh will provide the UD close defense with a challenge.

Defensively, the Pride is a bit of a mixed bag. Michael Altmann is a very steady LSM, Dominic Pryor is a physical SSDM and Tom Ford and Keegan Santos are very reliable poles. Aside from those players, there is not a ton of depth. Graduate transfer Logan Danenza , who was terrific last year playing for UMass, has been just okay this year and the other shorties can be beaten off the dodge.

If the Hens can keep a clean game and limit penalties they should be able to keep the Pride offense to under 12 goals. The Hofstra man-up offense is close to 40%, so it is imperative that UD stays clean on D.

Fairfield scored a bunch last week with early offense against Hofstra. That is really not the Delaware style of play, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Hens push transition at times. Overall, I would expect the Hens offense to go through Kitchen. He has had amazing success against Hofstra over the last three seasons. If the Pride attempt to shut him off, there are plenty of other options. Santos did a nice job one-on-one with Robinson last time, but the Hens will keep rotating the ball till they get the matchup they want.

The faceoffs will be a big part of the equation for the Hens. UD did a nice job scrapping with CAA leading FOGO Herber the last time around. At times, DeLuca put Michael Robinson and Owen Grant on the wings to muck it up a bit and scramble for those 50/50 GBs. Seemed to work.

I am looking forward to this game. Should be a fun one that will go down to the wire. I like Delaware 14-11. But I always like Delaware, so don’t make any wagers on this prediction.

[Laxwatch2007]

I like Delaware 14-11. But I always like Delaware, so don’t make any wagers on this prediction.

Or as Dr. Jim Soles used to say “never bet more than you can afford to lose”.

[Henpecked]

Dr Soles was a great man. And he was right. But I never bet on anything. Ruins the fun of watching.