University of Delaware Athletics
UD Heads to Philadelphia Wednesday to Battle CAA Best Drexel (Oct. 16, 2012)
10/16/2012 3:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware men's soccer team will travel the 40 miles north on I-95 to Philadelphia, Pa. to square off against the Drexel University Dragons in a Colonial Athletic Association match on Wednesday, October 17 at 7 p.m. at DU's Vidas Field.
“The players are excited about their match with CAA leader, Drexel,” Delaware head coach Ian Hennessy said. “It marks the last game before home matches down the stretch, where we will play three of four at Delaware Mini Stadium.”
Delaware (3-8-3, 1-2-2 CAA) sits in ninth place in the CAA while Drexel (9-3-1, 5-1 CAA) is atop the conference in first place entering Wednesday's contest. Since 1947, UD and DU men's soccer programs have played 60 matches with the Blue Hens owning a 18-36-6 record.
“A win or a tie against a very hot Drexel team tomorrow puts us in place to get back to our third straight year in post-season play in the CAA playoff,” Hennessy added. “This is our sole focus at the moment.”
The Blue Hens have battled their way through their toughest stretch of their CAA schedule against four teams that rank in the NCAA RPI Top 100 in Old Dominion (16), Northeastern (41), James Madison (62) and Drexel (34). Delaware enters Wednesday's match after a 1-1 double-overtime tie at James Madison. Junior Mark Garrity's goal in the 75th minute of the match tied the match that ended in a draw. Garrity's goal, his third on the season, tied freshman Joe Dipre for the team lead. Dipre leads the team with seven points this season.
Third-year head coach Doug Hess has 19 lettermen and 10 starters returning from a 5-10-3 squad a year ago. The Dragons, who were ranked 10th in the CAA in the conference's pre-season polls, have a three-game shutout streak coming into the match against Delaware. Reigning CAA Player of the Week, Nathan Page, leads the team with six goals and 13 points while forward Fabio Machado has a team-high four assists and is second on the squad with four assists and second with 10 points. Goalkeeper Tim Washam owns a 0.80 GAA while posting a 9-2-1 record in 12 starts for the Dragons.
Following Wednesday's match at Drexel, the University of Delaware men's soccer team returns to Delaware Mini Stadium on Sunday, October 21, at 1 p.m., when the Blue Hens battle the Hofstra University Pride.
