Late Offensive Barrage Lifts No. 16 Delaware Past No. 17 Hofstra

Saturday, April 17

Hempstead, NY

4 PM

University of Delaware

8-2, 5-1CAA

No. 17/15 Hofstra

6-4, 3-3CAA

Delaware

Hofstra

Charlie Kitchen celebrates after scoring against Fairfield

Photo by: Ryan Griffith

Late Offensive Barrage Lifts No. 16 Delaware Past No. 17 Hofstra

4/17/2021 7:12:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The No. 16-ranked Delaware men's lacrosse team ended things in dramatic fashion on Saturday after completing a late comeback in regulation before securing a 14-13 overtime road victory against No. 17 Hofstra.

The Blue Hens (8-2, 5-1 CAA) leaned heavily on the backs of Charlie Kitchen and Tye Kurtz in the second half and the duo delivered to help Delaware capture its first win opposite a ranked opponent since March 25, 2017.

They combined for 15 points in the win against the Pride (6-4, 3-3 CAA), but it was their performance late in the contest that made the biggest difference on the outcome. Kitchen tallied five goals with an assist and Kurtz posted two assists and a pair of goals, including the game-winning score, in the final two quarters and overtime period.

It wasn't just the offense showing out in crunch time as Matt Kilkeary and the Delaware defense stepped up as well. The senior goalkeeper recorded six saves in the fourth quarter alone and made a timely stop in overtime to allow the Blue Hens to comeback and ultimately leave Long Island victorious.

Hofstra came out of the gate ready to attack and wasted no time. Within the first four minutes of play, the Pride led 3-0 as Justin Sykes facilitated the offense by finding three different teammates for goals.
The Blue Hens responded with back-to-back goals by Kurtz and Kitchen to trim the deficit to one, 3-2, with 8:59 on the clock. However, Hofstra outscored Delaware, 5-1, over the remainder of the first half to go into the break leading by four, 8-4.

Each team put in a pair of goals in the third quarter and the Pride carried a 10-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Blue Hens got hot and Kitchen buried back-to-back scores to spark a 7-0 Delaware run. Grant notched his third goal of the season as the defenseman trimmed the deficit to one with 11:59 left to play, before Justin Scott found Mike Robinson for the game-tying goal less than a minute later.

Kitchen continued to heat up and recorded two straight goals, while Kurtz capitalized on a man-up opportunity with 8:07 on the clock to give Delaware a 13-10 lead.

Hofstra put four shots on goal in the ensuing seven minutes, but Kilkeary denied them all. However, with less than a minute left to play, the Pride managed to record three quick scores to force an overtime period.

In overtime, Delaware won the opening faceoff, but a Kurtz shot was saved. Hofstra called timeout and generated a scoring chance of its own, but Kilkeary denied the attempt. The Blue Hens then cleared the ball and called timeout before Kitchen found Kurtz for the game-winning goal.

UP NEXT

The Blue Hens will head to Towson, Md., on Saturday to square off against a red-hot Towson team for a CAA noon matchup.