Delaware Men's Soccer Ties UNCW 1-1, Clinches CAA Tournament Berth

Sunday, October 25

Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium

1:00 PM

University of Delaware

UNCW

Delaware Men's Soccer Ties UNCW 1-1, Clinches CAA Tournament Berth

10/25/2015 5:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Delaware Athletics

• Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware men's soccer team settled for a 1-1 tie with UNCW Sunday afternoon at Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium but the result meant even more in the bigger picture.

Delaware (7-6-3, 3-2-1 CAA) earned one point for the tie and in the process qualified for one of six spots in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament which begins Nov. 7 at campus sites.

Ian Hennessy. Delaware won the league tournament title in 2011.

“It's been a great week for the UD men's soccer program, capped today by clinching a post-season spot in one of the nation's toughest conferences,” said Hennessy. “This is the fourth time in the last five years we have made it and now we are looking to cement a home draw in the quarterfinal if we can continue to muster up positive results in our remaining two games. If we can do that, I would be happiest for our two seniors - Joe Dipre and Nick DiRienzo - who have been terrific ambassadors for our program in their time here."

Delaware, which had a three-game win streak snapped but stayed unbeaten in its last four outings, jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Thibault Philippe (Lycee Notre-dame Guingamp/Saint-Brienc, France) just 14 minutes into the game but the Seahawks (8-4-3, 3-2-2 CAA) evened things up on a goal with 26:35 left in regulation before the teams played two scoreless overtime periods.

Thibault, a sophomore co-captain, netted his third goal of the season as he went up high in the box to head-in a long cross from the left corner from Dipre (London Freeman's School/Betchworth, England). UNCW scored its goal at the 63:25 mark when Nathaniel Goodwin collected a rebound off a save by UD goalkeeper Todd Morton (Henderson/West Chester, Pa.) and scored. Morton's seven saves were his second highest total of the season.

Both teams managed 13 shots for the game while the Blue Hens held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. Delaware got off the only three shots by either team over the two overtime periods but could not connect as UNCW goalkeeper Sean Melvin stopped a shot by Delaware's Marco Siverio in the final seconds of the contest.

HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Delaware has outscored its opponents 11-5 over the four-game unbeaten streak, which includes a 2-1 win over No. 20 ranked Maryland Tuesday night
• Dipre recorded the fourth assist of the season and the 14th of his career to move into fourth place on the UD career list
• The Hens are 4-1-1 vs. UNCW over the last six meetings
• UNCW, which entered the game having earned votes in the NSCAA national Top 25 poll this week, has had seven of its last eight games decided by a goal or less

AGATE:

UNCW.........0.....1.....0....0.....1
Delaware.....1.....0.....0....0.....1

Scoring Summary: 1st Half - Thibault Philippe (Joe Dipre), 14:06 into match; 2nd Half - UNCW - Nathaniel Goodwin (Colin Bonner), 63:25.

Shots: UNCW - 13, D - 13; Corner Kicks: UNCW - 2, D - 6; Fouls: UNCW - 7, D - 7; Saves: UNCW - 5 (Sean Melvin), D - 7 (Todd Morton); Attendance: 550

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129