Boxscore

Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- Towson scored three straight goals in the third quarter to take control and held on to edge the University of Delaware 10-8 in Colonial Athletic Association men’s lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at sun-drenched Rullo Stadium.

The Blue Hens (5-9, 2-3 CAA), who had a two-game win streak snapped, put their post-season chances in jeopardy as Delaware will most likely need a win over Drexel in their regular season finale next Saturday in Philadelphia to earn one of four berths in the CAA Tournament. The Hens have advanced to the CAA semifinals five straight seasons.

Martin Cahill (at right) led the Blue Hens with two goals while Curtis Dickson and Josh Coveleski each added a goal and an assist and Grant Kaleikau, Kevin Kaminski, Justin Martinelli, and Beau Davis each netted a goal. Noah Fossner stopped eight shots in goal.

Dickson extended his point-scoring streak to 39 games, the fifth longest current streak in NCAA Division I, and upped his team-leading goal total to 31 and his career mark to 98. The junior from British Columbia native has now scored a point in 41 of 44 career games played.

Towson (6-7, 4-2 CAA), which snapped a two-game losing streak, clinched a spot in the CAA Tournament as Will Harrington and Bill McCutcheon combined for six goals, including one each in the final 2:06 as the Tigers held off a charge by the Blue Hens.

Harrington finished with four goals and an assist while McCutcheon scored twice and Tim Stratton and Justin Schneider each tallied a goal and an assist. Towson goalkeeper Rob Wheeler posted 13 saves to earn the win despite the Tigers being outshot 40-34.

Delaware, which honored its six seniors before the game and its 1984 and 1999 NCAA Tournament teams during the game, fell to Towson for the second straight year after dropping a 10-7 decision a year ago at Towson. The game was the 49th in this heated rivalry with seven of the last nine games now decided by three goals or less.

The first half featured four ties as the Hens got goals from Kaleikau, Martinelli, Cahill, and Davis and Towson countered with scores from Harrington, Britton, Cooper, and Stratton. Cahill and Davis scored 36 seconds apart to give the Hens a 4-3 lead as Davis’ man-up score with 6:12 remaining in the half put the Hens in front. But the Tigers sent the game into halftime tied at 4-4 on a goal by Stratton with 3:39 left.

Towson dominated the third quarter as it scored three straight goals - including two by Harrington - to go up 7-4 before a goal by Delaware’s Coveleski with 53 seconds left narrowed the deficit.

A goal by Dickson just 11 seconds into the final quarter cut the lead 7-6, but McCutcheon scored his first goal just 29 seconds later to push the TU lead back to two. Cahill tallied his second goal of the game with 4:30 left to play to pull the Hens to within 8-7, but Delaware would never get closer as Harrington scored an unassisted goal with 2:06 left and McCutcheon added some insurance with 15 seconds remaining to push the lead to 10-7. Kaminski scored for the Hens just before the final horn to end the game.

AGATE:

Towson.......2.....2.....3.....3.....10
Delaware....1.....3.....1.....3.....8

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Delaware - Martin Cahill, 2-0; Curtis Dickson, 1-1; Josh Coveleski, 1-1; Grant Kaleikau, 1-0; Kevin Kaminski, 1-0; Justin Martinelli, 1-0; Beau Davis, 1-0; Dan Cooney, 0-1; Phil Rollins, 0-1; Andrew Unthank, 0-1.
Towson - Will Harrington, 4-1; Bill McCutcheon, 2-0; Tim Stratton, 1-1; Justin Schneider, 1-1; Pat Britton, 1-0; Randall Cooper, 1-0; Matt Lamon, 0-2.

Shots: Towson - 34, Delaware - 40; Groundballs: T - 31, D - 30; Faceoffs: T - 11, D - 10; Clears: T- 11 of 15, D - 17 of 18; Extra Man Goals: T - 2 for 6, D - 2 for 2; Penalties: T - 2 for 1:00, D - 6 for 5:00; Saves: T - 13 (Rob Wheeler), D - 8 (Noah Fossner); Turnovers: T - 16, D - 10; Attendance: 1,094.