University of Delaware Athletics

Delaware Laxers Post Wild 12-11 Comeback Win Over Bucknell in Home Opener
2/7/2015 3:41:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
• Boxscore
NEWARK, Del. --Senior Tom Holland scored his fourth goal of the game with just 4:09 left to play and that proved to be the game-winner Saturday afternoon as the University of Delaware finished off a wild comeback with a 12-11 men's lacrosse victory over Bucknell at Delaware Stadium.
Down 5-0 after the first period and trailing 7-3 at halftime, the Blue Hens (1-1) rallied to tie the game
late in the third quarter and then broke the third tie of the game on Holland's clutch goal in the waning minutes.
Holland, whose four goals was one shy of his career-high five last year vs. UMass, took a feed from Jackson Finigan during a man-up opportunity and deposited his shot past Bucknell goalkeeper Sam Grinberg for the game-winner.
The Hens then held off Bucknell's final charge as shots by Sean O'Brien and Sean Doyle in the final 16 seconds were off the mark.
"We just wanted them to focus on the next play, the next shot, the next groundball," said Delaware head coach Bob Shillinglaw of his advice to his team when they went down early. "Lacrosse has these kind of surges and we just wanted our guys to take a deep breath and get ready for the next play. Our guys never got down, they kept chipping away and went for singles instead of home runs."
Tyler Aunon (at right) added two goals while Brian Kormondy added a goal and three assists, Beau Jones scored a goal and added two helpers, and Finigan added two assists.
Senior goalkeeper Brett Anton (below left) took over for starter Conor Peaks in the second quarter and posted six saves to earn the win. Matt Olbrich won 13 of 19 faceoffs and also scored a goal for the Hens.
Bucknell (0-1), which received votes in the preseason USILA Top 20 poll, got three goals each from
Thomas Flibotte and Ryan Joseph and two goals from Doyle. Flibotte and Doyle also added assists.T
The Bison stormed out to a 5-0 lead after the first quarter and led 7-1 before the Hens got goals from Holland Jones right before the halftime break.
The Hens then outscored Bucknell 6-1 over the first 11 minutes of the third stanza and took their first lead on Olbrich's first career goal with 3:32 left.
Bucknell responded with three straight goals to close the third quarter with an 11-9 lead, but the Hens held them scoreless over the final quarter while getting goals from Elijah Conte, Aunon, and Holland to post the win.
"Tommy (Holland) is starting out with a great season," said Shillinglaw. "I couldn't be more proud of him. He is a great kid. Once he gets his hands free (on his shot) he is hard to stop."
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Bucknell outshot the Hens 40-28, including 17-1 in the opening quarter
• Delaware scored on 3 of 4 extra-man opportunities
• The Hens lead the all-time series 25-5 but snapped a two-game losing streak to Bucknell, including a 9-8 loss in 2013 and a 6-4 setback last season
• Kormondy has now scored a point in 23 straight games since 2013
• Delaware returns to action Feb. 15 at Ohio State
• Bucknell played without its top returning scorer from last year David Dickson (15 goals, 28 assists) due to an injury
• Delaware held a moment of silence before the game to honor alum Don Pyle who was killed along with his wife, Sandy, and their four grandchildren when a fire swept their Annapolis, Md. home in January. Delaware will wear decals on their helmets this season with Don and Sandy's initials on them.
AGATE:
Bucknell.....5....2....4....0.....11
Delaware....0....3....6....3....12
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)
Bucknell - Thomas Flibotte (3-1); Ryan Joseph (3-0); Sean Doyle (2-1); Will Sands (1-2); Sean O'Brien (1-0); Connor O'Hara (1-0)
Delaware - Tom Holland (4-0); Tyler Aunon (2-1); Brian Kormondy (1-3); Beau Jones (1-2); Matt Olbrich (1-0); Steve DeLargy (1-0); Elijah Conte (1-0); Zach Runberg (1-0); Jackson Finigan (0-2).
Shots: B - 40, D - 28; Groundballs: B - 26, D - 27; Saves: B - 7 (Sam Grinberg, 53:36 min., 10 goals, 7 assists; Brac McKee, 6:24 min., 2 goals, 0 saves), D - 9 Conor Peaks (15 min., 5 goals, 3 saves; Brett Anton, 45 min., 6 goals, 6 saves); Faceoffs: B - 12, D - 13; Clears: B - 10 of 14, D - 9 of 10; Man-Up Goals: B - 2 for 2, B - 3 for 4; Penalties: B - 4 for 3:30, D - 2 for 2:00; Turnovers: B - 10, D - 12; Attendance: 523.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129






















