Delaware Men’s Lacrosse Begins Brand New Season, Opens CAA Play Saturday at Home vs. #10 Hofstra
March 15, 2013
File Photo Courtesy of Chris Permar
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NEWARK, Del. -- A brand new season will begin Saturday for the University of Delaware men’s lacrosse squad as the Blue Hens open Colonial Athletic Association action against longtime foe Hofstra at 1 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.
Delaware enters with a record of 2-5 overall and will be facing a Hofstra team that is 4-1, ranked No. 10 nationally, and is coming off an 8-7 win over No. 2 ranked Notre Dame last Saturday.
It all starts fresh for the Blue Hens this weekend regardless of their non-league record. The top four teams in the CAA at the close of the regular season will advance to the CAA Tournament with that winner earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Hens will be looking to turn around their fortunes on the home turf this season as Delaware is 0-3 at Delaware Stadium with all three losses coming by identical scores of 9-8 and all coming down to the final minute of play. Delaware fell to defending national champion and then No. 1 Loyola back on Feb. 16 when the Greyhounds scored the game-winner with four seconds left.
Misfortune struck the Hens again last Saturday when Binghamton rallied back from a three-goal deficit midway through the final quarter by scoring four straight goals, including the game-winner with just 19 seconds left to play.
Hofstra, which was picked third in the CAA pre-season poll, opened the season with a 14-9 win over Sacred Heart, followed that with a 10-7 loss to No. 13 Princeton, and then reeled off three straight wins, including a 9-2 win over Fairfield, a 10-5 victory over Harvard, and the victory over Notre Dame.
Delaware is led offensively by senior Eric Smith, who still leads the Hens in point with 13 goals and 7 assists despite being held scoreless vs. Binghamton to end a 24-game point-scoring streak. Midfielder Nick Diachenko has scored 16 goals while Connor McRoy has tallied nine goals and a team-high 10 assists.
Tyler Barbarich ranks No. 26 in the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.547) while goalkeeper Chris Herbert is coming off a career-best 16-save effort in the loss to Binghamton.
Hofstra has been outstanding on defense this year as the Pride enter the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 6.6 goals per game. The Pride also ranks No. 4 in man-down defense (.800) while also ranking No. 10 in man-up offense (.455) and No. 14 in turnovers (13.4 per game).
Individually, goalkeeper Chris Selva ranks No. 5 in the nation in goals against average (6.60) and No. 15 in save percentage (.577) while offensively Torin Varn is No. 6 in the nation in goal-scoring with 3.2 per game (16 totals).
