University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Looks to Bounce Back Saturday at Rutgers
3/25/2016 9:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Delaware (3-6) at Rutgers (6-2)
📅 DATE: Saturday, March 26, 2016
🕕 TIME: 7 p.m.
📍 LOCATION: HIgh Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
WATCH 🎥
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LIVE STATS 📊
Live stat links will be available via www.scarletknights.com
ONLINE 
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STORY LINE
Delaware, which had a two-game win streak snapped in a 12-7 setback at Saint Joseph's this past Saturday, will look to start another streak as the Hens travel to Rutgers to battle the Scarlet Knghts. The Blue Hens (3-6) will be playing their fourth straight home game as they take on a Rutgers (6-2) team that is coming off a 16-3 win over NJIT on March 18 and has earned votes in the USILA Top 20 most of the season.
LAST TIME OUT
Delaware led in most of the statistical categories in the Blue Hens' non-league matchup at Saint Joseph's March 19, but the scoreboard told a different story. The Blue Hens outshot the host Hawks, had a distinct advantage on groundballs, and the teams were even on faceoffs, but Saint Joseph's broke open a close game by scoring the first three goals of the second half and pulled away for a 12-7 victory at Sweeney Field. Delaware (3-6), which had a two-game win streak snapped and was playing its third straight road game, had tied the score at 5-5 with 3:55 left in the first half, but Saint Joseph's scored less than a minute later to take a one-goal lead into intermission and then tallied the first three goals of the second half to take control at 9-5.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
• Delaware has won three of its last five games
• This week's game vs. Rutgers will be Delaware's final non-league game of the season before opening Colonial Athletic Association play Apr. 2 at home vs. UMass
• Delaware ranks No. 20 in NCAA Division I in caused turnovers per game (7.89)
• Faceoff specialist Sam Walsh has won 54.8 percent of his attempts, good for No. 28 in the nation
• Delaware redshirt freshman Andrew Romagnoli has scored a goal in six straight games
• The Hens are led offensively by Romagnoli (15 goals, 5 assists), Paul Major (12-8), Steve DeLargy (9-5), and Joe Eisele (7-3)
• Of Delaware's 76 goals this season, 34 (44.7 percent) have been scored by first-year players
• Senior defensive midfielder John O'Connor leads the team in groundballs (27) and caused turnovers (11)
• Delaware will be looking to improve its man-up offense as the Hens have scored just four times in 25 attempts (.160)
SERIES INFORMATION
Delaware and Rutgers will meet for the 25th time since 1951 with the Scarlet Knights holding a 15-9 advantage, including last year's 17-12 win at Delaware Stadium. In last year's game, the first meeting between the two schools since 2008, the scoring was plentiful but Delaware came up short despite a career-high six-point day by senior midfielder Brian Kormondy, who had three goals and three assists. Rutgers, which snapped a three-game losing streak, netted a season-high 17 goals as Scott Bieda scored five goals, Christian Trasolini added four goals, Jeff George dished out four assists, and Joe Nardella scored twice, dished out three assists, and won 18 of 31 faceoffs for the Knights. Delaware had won three straight over Rutgers with wins of 10-6 in 2006, 7-5 in 2007, and 10-8 in 2008 before last year's setback.
• Brian Brecht (Springfield '95), who has 20 seasons of collegiate coaching experience, is in his fifth season as the head coach at Rutgers. He owns a record of 27-40 at Rutgers and is 92-89 overall in 12 seasons overall as a head coach, including seven seasons at Siena.
RUTGERS NOTES
• The Scarlet Knights have already surpassed last year's win total when the team went 5-10
• Rutgers was ranked as high as in the USILA poll this season and is currently earning votes in the poll
• The Scarlet Knights opened the season 5-0 with wins over St. John's, Army West Point, Fairfield, Wagner, and Monmouth, winning by an average of six goals per game, before falling to Stony Brook and Princeton. The squad rebounded with a 19-3 win over NJIT in its last outing Mar. 18.
• Rutgers is led offensively by Scott Bieda (17 goals, 18 assists), Adam Charalambides (22-9), and Jules Heningburg (17-8).
• Rutgers ranks in the NCAA I Top 20 in groundballs (36.1 per game/3rd), clearing pct. (.917/3rd), fewest turnovers per game (11.8/9th), winning pct. (.750/11th), scoring offense (12.5/13th), scoring margin (+3.8/13th), caused turnovers (8.25/14th), and scoring defense (8.63/18th). Bieda ranks No. 10 in the nation in points per game (4.38)
