University of Delaware Athletics
Primed for CAA Tournament Blue Hens Battle NU in Quarterfinals (Nov. 10, 2011)
11/10/2011 1:13:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Tournament Central
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Heading to its second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Tournament appearance for the first time in program history, the fourth seeded University of Delaware men's soccer team draws fifth seeded Northeastern tonight (Nov. 10) in a quarterfinal matchup at James Madison.
The Blue Hens, who dropped a tough semifinal bout in the last 20 seconds of double-overtime to William & Mary at last year's championships, will look to improve upon that mark in their second straight trip to the CAA Tournament.
Tonight's match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start, following the completion of the first quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 William & Mary and No. 6 Georgia State at 5 p.m.
The winner of the William & Mary vs. Georgia State game will take on No. 2 seed William & Mary in the semifinals Friday night at 5 p.m. while the Delaware-Northeaster winner will square off against top-seed and host James Madison at 7:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will advance to the championship game to be played on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m.
Scouting the University of Delaware Blue Hens (11-5-2, 6-4-1 CAA):
For the second year in a row the Blue Hens finished in fourth place in the final regular season CAA standings, but the CAA Tournament expanded to six teams in 2011, making Delaware play a quarterfinal matchup.
The Blue Hens have dropped their last two contests but rested key players for their playoff push. Delaware lost its home finale to Lafayette, 3-0, and its final CAA contest to VCU, 3-1, but went 4-0-1 prior to that with a full squad.
CAA Player of the Year Evans Frimpong is second in the CAA with 27 points, scoring 11 goals and five assists in 2011. The forward had five games with multiple goals as three of them came against conference opponents Northeastern, James Madison and William & Mary. His 27 points are the most by a Blue Hen since Petito compiled 35 points in 1982 and he is the school's first double-digit scorer since 2004.
The offense doesn't only run through Frimpong however, as sophomore sensation Roberto Gimenez, this year's CAA Rookie of the Year, also adds firepower with 27 points of his own. The forward was fifth in the conference with 10 goals and tied for third in assists with seven. He is one goal away from tying the rookie scoring record at Delaware, currently held by Sobhan Tadjalli with 11 goals in 2004.
Frimpong and Gimenez are one of the top offensive duos in the country, ranking second as a paring in both total points and total goals. Maryland's John Stertzer and Casey Townsend are the only pair to have collected more points then the Hen forwards.
In the regular season, Delaware was able to defeat the Huskies, 2-1, at Delaware Mini-Stadium on Oct. 5. Frimpong scored twice to lead the Hens to their second CAA victory of the season.
Thursday's game will also mark the second time these two schools have met in postseason play. In 1996, the Huskies and Blue Hens squared off in an America East semifinal with Northeastern emerging victorious, 2-0. This will be the 18th meeting all-time between the two teams with the Huskies holding a 14-3-2 advantage.
Scouting the Northeastern University Huskies (10-6-2, 6-4-1 CAA):
This season marks Northeastern's fifth postseason appearance since joining the CAA in 2005. The Huskies' last two appearances in the conference tournament in 2008 and 2009 resulted in trips to the conference championship game. Since joining the CAA, Northeastern's record in postseason play sits at 3-4 with two of those wins coming in thrilling fashion on penalty kicks.
Northeastern comes into this quarterfinal after an overtime loss to William & Mary. Mike Kennedy and Don Anding each scored for the Huskies, but their goals were not enough for Northeastern as they fell to the Tribe, 3-2.
Dante Marini, who played his high school soccer in Wilmington, Del. at Salesianum School, leads the Huskies with seven goals, five assists and 19 points. Kennedy extended his match-point streak to three games with a goal against William & Mary and now has five goals and three assists on the season.
Northeastern's regular goalkeeper, Oliver Blum carries a 1.22 goals against average while making 59 saves in 17 games. He, as well as the Huskies, have recorded five shutouts this season.
