University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
11-5
Towson
7-9
We are the Champions! MLAX Wins 4th CAA Tourney
5/7/2022 4:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Delaware men's lacrosse wins first CAA Tournament Championship since 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – We are the champions! The No. 1 seed Delaware men's lacrosse team captured the 2022 CAA Tournament Championship this afternoon at Vidas Field with a 11-6 victory over No. 4 seed Towson (7-9).
Battling 20mph winds and heavy rain, it was a rematch for a pair of schools that are located less than one hour away. With the Blue Hens (11-5) earning the one-goal victory back on April 16, today's matchup was one of the more anticipated games in the tournament.
It was the fourth time that the two teams met in the tournament with Delaware increasing its tournament championship all-time series lead to 3-1.
After a 10-second faceoff with neither team seeming to budge the ball made its way to Joe Speers who found Tye Kurtz 21 seconds into the game to give Delaware the early 1-0 lead.
Finding a gap from the right side of the field, Clay Miller swooped one in for the solo goal to give Delaware a 2-0 advantage with 12:28 to go in the first quarter. Despite Towson being able to tie the game at 3-3, the Blue Hens received goals from Mike Robinson and a second one from Kurtz to lead the Tigers 4-3 after the first quarter.
Coming out of the mini-break, Kurtz scored his third goal of the game at the 12:22 mark in the second quarter for his second hat trick of the tournament and scored again six minutes later making it three straight goals for the senior. Kyle Kivinski added a solo goal with under four minutes remaining, and Kurtz decided he wasn't done yet and added his fifth goal of the game with a minute and a half to go in the second quarter.
With a four-goal lead and 30 minutes left remaining in regulation, the Blue Hens had to muster down and dig deep to keep the Tigers at bay.
Kurtz tied the CAA Tournament single-game record of six goals with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Robinson tied the record in Thursday's win over Drexel.
With 15 minutes to go both teams traded goals but the Blue Hens were able to control the tempo. Delaware held Towson to two goals in the second half, as the Blue Hens were victorious and hoisted the trophy for the first time in over 10 years.
The Blue Hens previously won championships in 2007, 2010, and 2011. Today mark's the first CAA Tournament Championship for DeLuca.
Kurtz finished with six goals, while five other players had one apiece. Ward led all players with two assists. Kilkeary finished with six saves.
The all-tournament team included JP Ward, Mike Robinson, Matt Kilkeary, and Most Valuable Player Tye Kurtz.
"It was an absolute team effort from the coaching staff down. I couldn't be more proud of the defense for the way they played today and Matt was absolutely outstanding in the net," said Kurtz.
The field for the 2022 DI men's lacrosse tournament will be revealed Sunday, May 8 at 9 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. Eighteen teams will make it into this year's tournament. It will begin May 11 with the opening round games.
The 2022 national championship will be held Monday, May 30 at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut.
For more information on Delaware men's lacrosse, visit BlueHens.com and follow DelawareMLAX on Twitter and Instagram.
