University of Massachusets Athletics

Photo by: Jon Crispin
Fourth Quarter Play Secures Men’s Lacrosse 11-9 Win Over Delaware
April 26, 2019 | Men's Lacrosse
Minutemen score game’s final two goals to secure CAA Championship hosting rights
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse secured the hosting rights for the upcoming CAA Championship with an 11-9 victory over Delaware at Garber Field on Friday evening. Junior midfielder Jeff Trainor provided the eventual game-winning goal, sophomore midfielder Kevin Tobin paced the offense with five points on two goals and three assists and senior goalie Sean Sconone posted 16 saves and a groundball.
With the victory, Massachusetts gains the right to host the upcoming CAA Championship at Garber Field as the tournament's No. 1 seed. The semifinal round will be played on Thurs., May 2 while the championship will occur on Sat., May 4. Start times for the games will be announced in the coming days. Delaware, Drexel and Towson are guaranteed the remaining three spots in the field, but individual seeding will be determined based upon the outcome of Saturday's Drexel-Towson game.
The victory improved Massachusetts to 10-4 overall and UMass ended the regular season 4-1 in CAA play. Delaware dropped to 10-4 on the season and 3-2 in league action with the loss.
Sophomore attack Chris Connolly tallied a hat trick on three goals and notched a pair of groundballs. Trainor finished with two points (goal, assist) while junior midfielder Charlie O'Brien matched Trainor's output. Four additional Minutemen had a point each on goals by Nick Roy, Devin Spencer and Dan O'Brien as well as an assist by Kevin Cutinella.
Senior faceoff specialist Tom Meyers won 18 of the game's 23 draws (.783) and grabbed 11 groundballs.
After UMass lead by as many as three, the game entered its final quarter with the score knotted at 8-apiece as the Blue Hens closed the third with back-to-back-to-back tallies. Joe Eisele, Tye Kurtz and Bryce Reid provided the tallies, while Kurtz also collected an assist in the scoring series.
Connolly pushed UMass back in front with his final goal of the game at the eight-minute, 20-second mark in the fourth, but Charlie Kitchen responded for Delaware less than six minutes later with his 35th of the year for a 9-9 tie with 2:57 to go.
Meyers followed Kitchen's goal with his first of three consecutive faceoff victories as the Minutemen controlled all but 40 seconds of the remaining time en route to the victory. After Meyers swiped possession from Ryan Shaw (1-for-5), Tobin found Trainor open in front for the 10-9 lead with 2:06 to go.
Meyers stepped to the faceoff dot and bested Joe Lenskold (5-of-18) next, but a turnover gave play back to Delaware with 1:29 to go. With the opportunity to tie, Kitchen fired wide to the left, where Charlie O'Brien scooped the loose ball and pushed transition to Philpott. After crossing midfield, Philpott shifted around the back of the cage, caught Delaware goalie Matt DeLuca out of the cage and swung a low show into the open net before DeLuca could regain his placement in the cage.
Clay Miller led Delaware with three goals and one assist while Kitchen tallied twice and dished out one assist. DeLuca finished with 13 saves.
Massachusetts led in total shots, 41-40 while Delaware had a 25-24 advantage in on-target tries. The Maroon and White turned it over 16 times to 11 by Delaware.
The Minutemen successfully cleared it 11-of-12 times while Delaware ended 16-for-20. UMass scooped up 25 groundballs while the Blue Hens grabbed 24.
Follow Massachusetts men's lacrosse on Twitter (@UMassMLacrosse), Instagram (@UMassMLAX) and Facebook (/UMassMensLacrosse).
With the victory, Massachusetts gains the right to host the upcoming CAA Championship at Garber Field as the tournament's No. 1 seed. The semifinal round will be played on Thurs., May 2 while the championship will occur on Sat., May 4. Start times for the games will be announced in the coming days. Delaware, Drexel and Towson are guaranteed the remaining three spots in the field, but individual seeding will be determined based upon the outcome of Saturday's Drexel-Towson game.
The victory improved Massachusetts to 10-4 overall and UMass ended the regular season 4-1 in CAA play. Delaware dropped to 10-4 on the season and 3-2 in league action with the loss.
Sophomore attack Chris Connolly tallied a hat trick on three goals and notched a pair of groundballs. Trainor finished with two points (goal, assist) while junior midfielder Charlie O'Brien matched Trainor's output. Four additional Minutemen had a point each on goals by Nick Roy, Devin Spencer and Dan O'Brien as well as an assist by Kevin Cutinella.
Senior faceoff specialist Tom Meyers won 18 of the game's 23 draws (.783) and grabbed 11 groundballs.
After UMass lead by as many as three, the game entered its final quarter with the score knotted at 8-apiece as the Blue Hens closed the third with back-to-back-to-back tallies. Joe Eisele, Tye Kurtz and Bryce Reid provided the tallies, while Kurtz also collected an assist in the scoring series.
Connolly pushed UMass back in front with his final goal of the game at the eight-minute, 20-second mark in the fourth, but Charlie Kitchen responded for Delaware less than six minutes later with his 35th of the year for a 9-9 tie with 2:57 to go.
Meyers followed Kitchen's goal with his first of three consecutive faceoff victories as the Minutemen controlled all but 40 seconds of the remaining time en route to the victory. After Meyers swiped possession from Ryan Shaw (1-for-5), Tobin found Trainor open in front for the 10-9 lead with 2:06 to go.
Meyers stepped to the faceoff dot and bested Joe Lenskold (5-of-18) next, but a turnover gave play back to Delaware with 1:29 to go. With the opportunity to tie, Kitchen fired wide to the left, where Charlie O'Brien scooped the loose ball and pushed transition to Philpott. After crossing midfield, Philpott shifted around the back of the cage, caught Delaware goalie Matt DeLuca out of the cage and swung a low show into the open net before DeLuca could regain his placement in the cage.
Clay Miller led Delaware with three goals and one assist while Kitchen tallied twice and dished out one assist. DeLuca finished with 13 saves.
Massachusetts led in total shots, 41-40 while Delaware had a 25-24 advantage in on-target tries. The Maroon and White turned it over 16 times to 11 by Delaware.
The Minutemen successfully cleared it 11-of-12 times while Delaware ended 16-for-20. UMass scooped up 25 groundballs while the Blue Hens grabbed 24.
Follow Massachusetts men's lacrosse on Twitter (@UMassMLacrosse), Instagram (@UMassMLAX) and Facebook (/UMassMensLacrosse).
Team Stats
DELAWARE
UMASS
Shots
40
41
Turnovers
11
16
Caused Turnovers
10
5
Faceoffs Won
6
18
Extra-Man Opps
3
2
Ground Balls
24
25
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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