Defense Leads Blue Hens Past NJIT, 13-1

Saturday, February 15

Newark, Del.

12 p.m.

University of Delaware

2-0

NJIT

1-3

NJIT

DELAWARE

Photo by: Mark Campbell

2/15/2020 3:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – Over the past 72 years, the University of Delaware men's lacrosse program had competed in 999 games.

On Saturday, the Blue Hens took the field at Delaware Stadium for game #1,000 and the effort put forth by Blue & Gold was one that had been seen only 22 times over those 72 years.

A stifling defensive effort led Delaware past visiting NJIT, 13-1, for a second straight victory to start the 2020 season. It was the first time since 1975 that the Blue Hens held its opponent to one goal or fewer and just the 22^nd time in program history.

"I'm proud of the effort by our guys today. We certainly have a lot to continue to work on, but we got terrific leadership from our seniors that really helped set the tone in all facets," head coach Ben DeLuca said. "This program has an incredibly rich tradition and it was an honor for us to be able to play and compete in the 1,000^th game in school history."

Defensively, the Blue Hens allowed just 22 shots total, while forcing NJIT into 23 turnovers, 14 of which were caused. Sophomore Owen Grant and freshman Reed Kurtz each had two caused turnovers, while Grant also added five ground balls and his first collegiate goal in the win.

Senior Matt DeLuca piled up 13 saves and allowed just one goal in nearly 55 minutes in goal. It's the 15^th time in the past 17 games that DeLuca has recorded double-digit saves.

"I thought our communication was really good today and we're seeing a lot of things that we've been working on in practice come through in our first two games," Grant said.

Senior Charlie Kitchen led the offensive attack with five points on two goals and three assists. He scored in his 34^th consecutive game, which is the country's longest active streak. Sophomore Tye Kurtz and Clay Miller, along with freshman Mike Robinson, all had two goals on the day.

At the X, senior Jake Hervada was stellar all day, winning 10 of his 14 faceoffs, while grabbing five ground balls and scoring his fourth collegiate goal.

"We're obviously happy to come out with the win, but we feel like we left a lot out there," Kitchen said. "I thought our motion worked at times today and we had a bunch of different guys score, which is great, but we certainly have a lot to work on."

A beautiful feed from Kitchen to Kurtz got Delaware on the board less than three minutes into the game, but NJIT tied things up four minutes later.

With just over three minutes left in the first quarter, Miller made a great move towards net and finished his first goal of the season to put the Blue Hens ahead 2-1.

Delaware would seize control in the second quarter with six unanswered goals from five different players to take an 8-1 lead into halftime.

The Blue Hens defense would continue to stifle the Highlanders, limiting the opponents to just 12 shots in the second half, forcing two shot clock violations and allowing no goals en route to the 13-1 victory.

Up Next

Delaware hits the road for two games next week, first on Tuesday at Saint Joseph's, followed by a matchup at Monmouth next Saturday.