Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- No. 14 ranked University of Delaware jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter, but No. 15 Stony Brook exploded for nine second quarter goals to take control and held off a fourth quarter comeback to down the Blue Hens 16-12 in a men's lacrosse Top 20 shootout Saturday afternoon at soggy Delaware Stadium.

The game was expected to be a high-scoring affair as both teams entered the game ranked among the top offensive units in the country and the fans who braved the steady rain and windy conditions observed just that.

Stony Brook (3-1), the nation’s No. 5 ranked scoring offense with 14.3 goals per game, won its second straight game as the Seawolves netted nine second quarter goals, including six straight during a five-minute span to take the lead for good.

Junior Jordan McBride, who scored 10 goals against the Hens in 2008 and netted the game-winner in double overtime in last year’s meeting, proved to be a thorn in Delaware’s side once again as he scored a game-high seven goals, including three straight in the pivotal second quarter, and also dished out an assist.

Tom Compitello added two goals and three assists while Kevin Crowley and Kyle Belton each contributed two goals and two assists and Graham Adams netted a goal and an assist as Stony Brook downed the Hens for the third straight time.

Delaware (4-2), which had a two-game win streak snapped, had entered the game ranked No. 14 nationally with 12.0 goals per game, just could not keep up with Stony Brook. All-American Curtis Dickson (at right), who entered the game as the nations’ leading goal-scorer with 24, was on fire once again as he recorded six goals and dished out an assist. He extended the nation’s second-longest current active point-scoring streak to 46 games, one shy of the UD school record.

Dickson, who was coming off an eight-goal effort in last week’s 16-9 win over Albany and also owns a seven-goal performance vs. UMBC this spring, upped his season goal total to 31. He also extended his goal-scoring streak to 15 straight games and moved into the No. 3 spot all-time at Delaware for career goals with 131.

Martin Cahill netted his fourth hat-trick of the season with three goals for the Blue Hens while Grant Kaleikau (bottom left) dished out a career-high five assists and John Austin, Chris Hichborn, and Nick Elsmo provided goals.

Delaware jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead after one quarter as Dickson, Elsmo, and Cahill each converted over the final 5:47 of the stanza. But things quickly turned in the second quarter as McBride got red-hot and carried the Seawolves to a 10-6 halftime lead. He scored his first goal on a man-up opportunity just over five minutes into the stanza to start a string of six straight goals - scoring three more himself in that span - that put Stony Brook up 7-4 with 4:55 left.

The Blue Hens stopped the streak on a goal by Dickson with 4:24 left, but the Seawolves scored twice in a 12-second span to push the lead back to four. After another goal by Dickson narrowed the deficit, Stony Brook took a 10-6 lead into the break when Belton scored with just six seconds left.

Stony Brook pushed the lead to five when Compitello scored the first goal of the second half, but Delaware responded in a big way to get back in the game as the Hens scored three straight goals to finish of the quarter. And when Dickson tallied off a feed from Dom Sebastiani just 12 seconds into the final stanza, the Hens had narrowed the gap to 11-10.

But the comeback was derailed from there as McBride countered with two straight goals, the first right after the Hens had failed to capitalize on their only man-up opportunity of the game, and Crowley added another with 7:35 left to increase the lead to 14-10.

Hichborn scored his only goal of the game 33 seconds later to cut the lead to 14-11, but Stony Brook once again held off the comeback as Compitello and McBride scored goals in a span of two minutes to put the game away.

Delaware will take to the road to meet No. 12 Georgetown Wednesday night, March 17, in Washington D.C. before returning to Delaware Stadium on Saturday to host former Colonial Athletic Association rival Villanova.

AGATE:

Stony Brook..........1.......9.......1........5.......16
Delaware...............4.......2.......3.......3........12

Scoring Summary:
Delaware - Curtis Dickson, 6 goals-1 assist; Martin Cahill, 3-0; John Austin, 1-0; Chris Hichborn, 1-0; Nick Elsmo, 1-0; Grant Kaleikau, 0-5; Dom Sebastiani, 0-2; Connor Fitzgerald, 0-1.
Stony Brook - Jordan McBride, 7-1; Tom Compitello, 2-3; Kevin Crowley, 2-2; Kyle Belton, 2-2; Graham Adams, 1-1; Robbie Campbell, 1-0; Vonzel LeGall, 1-0; Timmy Trenkle, 0-1; Steve Waldeck, 0-1.

Shots: SB - 29, D - 37; Groundballs: SB - 43, D - 31; Faceoffs: SB - 19, D - 12; Clears: SB - 13 of 17, D - 13 of 14; Extra Man Goals: SB - 2 for 4, D - 0 for 1; Penalties: SB - 1 for 1:00; D - 4 for 2:30; Saves: SB - 15 (Charlie Paar, 58:22 min., 11 goals, 15 saves; John Bella, 1:38; 1 goal, 0 saves), D - 10 (Noah Fossner); Turnovers: SB - 17 D - 14; Attendance: 262.