Boxscore

Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

VILLANOVA, Pa.-- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team came out on the short end of a defensive struggle Saturday night as the Blue Hens fell to host Villanova 5-4 in their Colonial Athletic Association opener at Villanova Stadium.

The Hens (2-6, 0-1 CAA), who lost their fourth straight game and their second straight by a single goal, pulled to within 5-4 on a goal by Josh Coveleski with 3:55 left to play but could never tie it up. Three of the Hens’ six losses this season have been by a single goal.

Delaware had won each of its last two CAA openers and four of its last five.

Villanova (6-1, 1-0 CAA), which won its second straight game, forced 27 Delaware turnovers and got two goals from Chris Aitken on its way to its first win over the Blue Hens since the 2004 season.

Coveleski and Curtis Dickson each scored a goal and dished out an assist while Martin Cahill and Phil Rollins also tallied goals. The Hens, who have lost four straight for the first time since 2003, got a big effort in goal from sophomore Noah Fossner (at right) who recorded a career-high 18 saves.

Dickson, an All-American, a Tewaaraton Trophy Player of the Year candidate, and the Hens’ leading scorer, upped his season scoring total to 19 goals and four assists and extended his three-year point-scoring streak to 34 straight games. The streak is the fifth longest active skein among NCAA Division I players.

Delaware’s four goals was its lowest total since falling to Johns Hopkins 8-3 in the NCAA national semifinals in 2007 in Baltimore. The nine goals for both teams made it Delaware’s lowest scoring game since a 5-3 win over Lehigh on Feb. 21, 2004.

Aitken and Tim Driscoll staked Villanova to a 2-0 lead after one quarter and the Wildcats increased the advantage to 3-0 when Aitken scored for a second time three minutes into the second stanza. Delaware did not get on to the board until Rollins scored a man-up goal with 3:18 left before halftime to narrow the deficit to 3-1 at the break.

Matthew Fritts scored early in the third quarter to push the Villanova lead to 4-1 before Dickson answered for the Hens with his only goal of the game with 7:26 left in the stanza. A goal by Tim Langan with 3:09 left in the quarter sent Villanova into the final stanza up 5-2.

Delaware made a run in the fourth quarter as Cahill scored one minute into the fourth quarter and Coveleski tallied 10 minutes off a feed from Dickson to narrow the gap to 5-4. The Hens got four shots off during the final 35 seconds but Villanova goalkeeper Andrew DiLoreto saves two of them and two others went wide.

AGATE:

Delaware.......0.....1.....1.....2.....4
Villanova........2.....1.....2.....0.....5

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Delaware - Curtis Dickson, 1-1; Josh Coveleski, 1-1; Martin Cahill, 1-0; Phil Rolllins, 1-0; Villanova - Chris Aitken, 2-0; Matthew Fritts, 1-0; Tim Langan, 1-0; Tim Driscoll, 1-0; Chris MacDonald, 0-1.

Shots: D- 29, V - 33; Groundballs: D - 19, V- 20; Faceoffs: D - 9, V - 4; Clears: D - 19 of 20, V - 12 of 14; Extra Man Goals: D - 1 for 4, V - 0 for 3; Saves: D - 18 (Noah Fossner), V - 10 (Andrew DiLoreto); Turnovers: D - 27, V - 17; Penalties: D - 3 for 1:30, V - 4 for 3:00; Attendance: 427.