Blue Hens Drop Hard-Fought Battle at #15 UMass

Friday, April 26

Amherst, MA

5:00 PM

University of Delaware

10-4, 3-2CAA

University of Massachusetts

10-4, 4-1CAA

Delaware

Massachusetts

Photo by: John Baker

4/26/2019 7:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – If the past two weekends have proven anything, it's that next week's CAA Championship weekend won't be for the faint of heart.

For the second straight weekend, the University of Delaware men's lacrosse team found itself locked in a battle with a conference heavy weight. Another battle to the wire, but the Blue Hens fell 11-9 to 15^th-ranked UMass on Friday night.

The loss secured the CAA Tournament being at UMass again and the Blue Hens will be making their second straight trip to the postseason event. It marks the first time since 2010/2011 that Delaware has reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons.

"This is how these CAA games are. Every single one is a battle and you have to scrap and claw and do whatever it takes to try and come out with the win. Tonight, I'm proud of the way our guys battled, but UMass was able to come up with a few more plays and that ultimately made the difference," head coach Ben DeLuca said.

Offensively, freshman Clay Miller had his career-best performance with a hat trick and an assist in the contest. Junior Charlie Kitchen found the back of the net twice and added an assist for the Blue Hens. Kitchen set a new school record by scoring a goal in his 31^stconsecutive game. It breaks an eight-year old record set by pro great Curtis Dickson.

Defensively, junior Matt DeLuca racked up 13 saves, while the unit caused 10 turnovers by the Minutemen. Senior Jackson Finigan had four groundballs and sophomore Zach Strassner had three caused turnovers and three groundballs on the night.

"We wanted a chance to fight for a title and we have that next week. We've got a few days to lock in and prepare for what's in front of us," Coach DeLuca said.

UMass would jump out to an early advantage, scoring three times in the first 10 minutes and keeping the Blue Hens off the board for the 3-0 lead.

The Minutemen would push the lead to 5-2 midway through the second, but goals by Kitchen and Finigan in the final five minutes of the first half made it a one-score game at the break.

A goal by Miller less than two minutes into the second half would square things up at 5-5.

UMass would make another run with three straight goals, but yet again, Delaware answered with three straight of their own to make it an 8-8 game going into the fourth.

The Minutemen struck first, but Kitchen bullied his way into his second goal and tied the score at 9-9 with under three minutes to play.

UMass would breakthrough with two goals in the final two minutes and come away with the 11-9 home victory.

Up Next

Delaware will await its final seeding for the 2019 CAA Tournament after Saturday's final day of regular season play. Semifinals will be played at 5 pm and 7:30 pm next Thursday, May 2^nd.