Blue Hens Drop Hard Fought 14-12 Contest To #14 Towson

Saturday, April 20

Newark, DE

12:00 PM

University of Delaware

10-3, 3-1CAA

Towson University

8-4, 3-1CAA

TOWSON

DELAWARE

Photo by: Paolo Tiamson

Blue Hens Drop Hard Fought 14-12 Contest To #14 Towson

4/20/2019 3:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – Delaware and Towson. The lacrosse rivalry that dates back over 50 years and is always a battle.

Saturday was no different in what was the first top-20 match-up at Delaware Stadium in nearly 10 years, with the 14^th-ranked Tigers doing just enough to come away with a 14-12 victory over the 20^th-ranked Blue Hens, snapping Delaware's four-game win streak.

"Credit to Towson, they're an incredibly talented team and they took advantage of some undisciplined and uncharacteristic play from us," head coach Ben DeLuca said. "I thought our adrenaline really carried us and got us going early on, but after the half, I thought it played against us and forced into those mistakes which Towson took advantage of."

Offensively, seniors Dean DiSimone and Joe Eisele led the way with four goals apiece, while junior Charlie Kitchen extended his goal-scoring streak to 30 consecutive games, which tied a school record. Senior Jackson Finigan added a goal and an assist off the bench for the Blue Hens.

Defensively, Austin Haynes was one of three Blue Hens with two caused turnovers apiece. His two caused turnovers gave him a new school record with 70 for his career. Matt DeLuca was in cage for the afternoon, making eight saves on the day.

"Good teams make you pay and that's what Towson did today," Finigan said. "We gave them too many chances and didn't play our game. We have to keep working and know that we still have opportunities in front of us to reach the goals we've set for ourselves."

Delaware got off to a hot start with DiSimone leading a barrage of five goals in the first quarter by four different players en route to a 5-2 lead for the Blue Hens.

Towson responded by taking advantage of a full-time penalty early in the second quarter, scoring four goals in 59 seconds to quickly grab a 6-5 lead. It marked the first time in over 240 minutes that the Blue Hens had trailed in a game.

The Blue Hens would bounce back with back-to-back goals from Eisele to reclaim a 7-6 lead.

However, Towson would take momentum into the locker room, scoring two goals in the final three minutes to grab an 8-7 advantage. The Tigers would keep at it, scoring five straight goals to start the second half and quickly push the lead to 13-7.

Delaware would not go away, scoring four straight goals of their own to get back within 13-11 with eight minutes to play.

Towson's defense would hold strong and not allow the Blue Hens to get any closer en route to the 14-12 final score.

Up Next

Delaware returns to action on Friday in the regular season finale when the Blue Hens travel to defending CAA Champion UMass. Game time is set for 5 p.m.