Delaware Stuns No. 2 Georgetown 10-9 in Final Seconds of NCAA Tournament First Round
Hunter Peters
BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2022) – The University of Delaware’s men’s lacrosse program downed the second seed in the NCAA Tournament, Georgetown 10-9, in the final seconds of Sunday’s final First Round matchup of the NCAA Tournament to earn a seventh straight victory, and advance to the national quarterfinals.
The Blue Hens improve to 13-5 after the victory and will face seventh-seeded Cornell in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 22, at noon in Columbus, Ohio. Georgetown concludes its season 15-2 after losing its first game since March 5.
Delaware opened the game on a 3-0 run, but it was the Blue Hens' 3-0 run to end the game that sent shockwaves throughout the lacrosse community Sunday night.
The Blue Hens faced a two-goal deficit entering the fourth quarter of a defensive battle. The score remained 8-6 for the first 7:09 of the fourth quarter before
Mike Robinson cut the deficit to one on a picture-perfect, behind-the-back score to the top corner. The Hoyas responded two possessions later as Connor Morin pushed the lead back to two with 4:39 remaining in the contest.
However, Delaware would not go away without a fight.
Drew Lenkaitis scored his second goal of the game with 3:29 left on the clock to initiate the Blue Hens’ final run.
Logan Premtaj won the ensuing face-off to give the ball back to Delaware. Out of a timeout, it was the third time that was the charm as
Tye Kurtz knotted the game at nine with 2:13 remaining after a pair of missed shots earlier in the possession.
Georgetown won the ensuing face-off, but the Blue Hens’ defense held strong, causing a turnover after a Hoyas’ timeout, which gave Delaware the ball with 1:04 left on the clock. Once again, coach
Ben DeLuca called a timeout to draw up one final play, and the Blue Hens cashed in big time.
JP Ward found the back of the net for the game-winner off a Lenaitis assist with eight seconds left on the clock to keep Delaware’s season alive.
A 45-minute weather delay didn’t faze Delaware as the Blue Hens opened the game on a 3-0 run behind goals from Ward,
Clay Miller and
Nick Jessen. Georgetown ended the run with its first goal at the 3:28 mark in the first quarter; however, Robinson pushed Delaware’s lead back to three, finding the back of the net with 1:25 remaining in the first.
Georgetown scored two goals in the final 25 seconds of the opening quarter, cutting the deficit to 4-3 before tallying the first two goals of the second quarter to give the Hoyas their first lead, 5-4, midway through the quarter. Lenkaitis stopped the Georgetown run, scoring his first goal of the game after a pair of assists in the first quarter. Nonetheless, the Hoyas who took a 6-5 lead into halftime after Declan McDermott scored with 1:43 remaining in the second quarter.
Matt Kilkeary was masterful between the pipes to lead Delaware’s impressive defensive effort. Kilkeary recorded 14 saves and posted a .608 save percentage in the victory. Additionally,
Owen Grant caused three turnovers to lead the Blue Hens while scooping up a team-high four ground balls. Lenkaitis recorded a team-high five points to lead the Delaware attack, with himself, Robinson and Ward scoring two goals apiece.
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