No. 19 Delaware Men’s Lacrosse Heads to No. 12 Bucknell for Top 20 Showdown Saturday
February 10, 2012
File Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Coming off a decisive season-opening 19-6 win over Detroit last Saturday, the No. 19 ranked University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team will be looking to open the season 2-0 yet again as the Blue Hens travel to take on No. 12 Bucknell Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The Hens, the two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association champions, will be looking to start the season 2-0 for the third straight year and for the eighth time in the last nine seasons. Bucknell will be playing its season opener.
Fans can follow the game through a Live Stats service provided by Bucknell on-line at www.bucknellbison.com/sports/m-lacros/buck-m-lacros-body.html. There will be no radio or video coverage of the event.
Delaware will be playing a ranked opponent for the fifth time in the last six games dating back to last season with Bucknell being the highest ranked opponent the Hens have faced during the regular season since a 10-4 setback at No. 11 Villanova last Apr. 9.
Delaware opened the season in exciting fashion last Saturday at Delaware Stadium as the Blue Hens broke away from a 4-4 halftime tie by scoring 12 third quater goals and cruising to a 19-6 win to give head coach Bob Shillinglaw his 300th career victory. He is only the eighth coach in the history of collegiate men’s lacrosse to reach that win milestone.
The Blue Hens are led offensively by senior Grant Kaleikau, a pre-season All-Colonial Athletic Association attackman who scored four goals and dished out four assists vs. Detroit to reach the 100-point mark for his career.
Other offensive support comes from junior Sean Finegan and Danny Keane while Nick Diachenko and Carter Bloor lead the midfield unit and Connor Fitzgerald and Tim Langmaid pace the defense in front of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chris Herbert, who made 15 saves in his collegiate debut vs. Detroit. Senior Dan Cooney (at right), one of the nation’s top faceoff specialists, won 18 of 23 draws last week.
Bucknell, the pre-season favorite to capture the Patriot League title, is coming off another outstanding season in which the Bison won a program record 14 victories, went undefeated in league play to capture the PL title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament before falling by a single goal to eventual national champion Virginia in the opening round. The strength of Bucknell’s team will be on attack led by Billy Eisenreich, Todd Heritage and Chase Bailey.
