Tbe (13-5) Delaware Blue Hens pulled off the upset of the NCAA DI Season with a furious rally to beat the #2 Georgetown Hoyas (15-2) in action at Cooper Field in Washington DC. Down by a goal with 3:29 to play, the Blue Hens dug deep to pull off the 10-9 shocker. The Blue Hens had to win a “play in” game for the right to take on the Hoyas.
Kevin M. Neibauer.
LaxPhilly-A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network.
“I would like to put emphasis the leadership of our captains and senior class – the belief in each other and our process, we are thankful for the opportunity to compete in this game against a great opponent. Blue Hen nation showed up in force and they were a big part of the energy that we fed on throughout the game, particularly at the end.” Delaware Head Coach, Ben Deluca.
Buckle Up and Enjoy:
Perhaps the most entertaining game of the 2022 season saw the Blue Hens stun everyone with a 3-0 start. JP Ward (2g), Drew Miller (1g,2a) both set up by Drew Lenkaitis, followed by Nick Jessen (1g) putting home his 7th on an unassisted tally to boost the 3-0 lead with 3:53 to play.
TJ Haley went to work to stop the run with Graham Bundy Jr. (3g) paying the dividend. Mike Robinson (2g,1a) answered before Alex Trippi (2g,1a) at :23 and with just :07 remaining, face off James Reilly (1g) specialist winning the draw and taking it to the house to end the quarter.
End of First, 4-3 Delaware.
Moving On:
Georgetown seemed to get their bearings to have a 3-1 second. Trippi buried his 27th followed with Bundy Jr. Collecting his 44th. Delaware shrugged it off with Lenkaitis (2g) responding. Trippi hit a breaking Declan McDemott (1g,1a) that ended the first half scoring.
At the Half, 6-5 in favor of the Hoyas.
Third Quarter:
More tight defense was the story of the third stanza with The Hoyas hitting for a pair and Delaware a single. Bundy Jr. collected his 45th and his hat trick but, Robinson set up up Mark Bieda (1g). TJ Haley (1g,1a) notching his 11th closed the curtain on the initial 45:00.
8-6 Hoyas after Three
To the Final 15:00.
Grab a beverage sit back and have your spine tingled.
Miller started the fun by setting up Robinson with 7:51to go. With 4:29 remaining, Connor Morin (1g) appeared to seal the deal for Georgetown. Don’t be bought in, Delaware was far from throwing in the towel with Lenkaitis banging his 13th to make it a one goal contest with 3:29 on the board. Two Blue Hens who had been held off the score sheet, Cam Acchione (1a) got dirty to set up the dynamic, The Kurtz (1g) evening the score with 2:15 left. The heroics we’re cued up with Lenkaitis finding Ward with :08 remaining to complete the upset of the season.
Notes and News:
• Delaware has a date with Cornell in Round Two on May 23rd.
• Shots had a Hoyas 46-36 edge as well as the Hoyas barely edging the Hens on shots on goal, 23-22. Matt Kilkeary stopped 14 for the Hens with Owen McElroy making 12 saves for the Hoyas.
• Turnovers had the Hoyas with 14 and Delaware with 12. Ground balls had a slight Georgetown advantage, 30-28. Georgetown won the battle from the dot,14-9 with James Reilly going 14 of 23 with a goal and gobbling 9 ground balls.
Delaware Shocks the Lacrosse World.
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
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