After a great week for both teams that saw two wins each, No. 18 Hofstra (3-2) will take on Colonial Athletic Association rivals Delaware (5-2) for the CAA opener on Saturday, March 15.
Looking at the numbers, Hofstra has an 8.80 gpg average on the season while the Blue Hens have 9.57 gpg. Both teams are close in the extra-man opportunities with the Pride 7-21 coming off a 3-6 EMO performance Saturday while the Blue Hens are 7-20 on the season.
Hofstra, who finds themselves ranked in the NCAA Top 20 for the first time this season, is coming off of an impressive defensive effort in the 7-5 win against Ohio State and looks to increase its win streak to four while the Blue Hens have already captured the feat of a four-game win streak—the longest by a Delaware team since the 2010 NCAA Tournament season after defeating Binghamton University (2-3) last Saturday in an exciting 10-9 victory.
For the Pride, defense was the key to stopping an Ohio State offense with one of the NCAA’s top players, Jesse King. Hofstra sophomore Finn Sullivan received much of the praise from Head Coach Seth Tierney along with defensive coordinator Kevin Unterstein for his work with the man-down unit that held the Buckeyes to 1-and-5 on the day. Junior goalie Chris Selva made eight saves in the cage for Hofstra.
The offense also chipped in for the Pride as sophomore attackman Sam Llinares led the team with four points chipping in three goals and an assist. Hofstra also received goals from seniors Torin Varn (2 G) and Drew Coholan (1 G, 1 A) and two assists from red-shirt sophomore Korey Hendrickson.
Junior Brian Kormondy was the hero for the Blue Hens in a 10-9 victory over Binghamton this past Saturday as he scored the game-winning goal with one second left after a caused turnover and Delaware timeout. Kormondy has been on a hot streak earning his first career hat trick last Tuesday in Delaware’s 9-6 win over Lafayette last Tuesday.
Delaware had a balanced effort from the offense Saturday as Kormondy finished with two goals and an assist along with freshman Logan Aunon (2 G) for his third consecutive game scoring two or more goals, Jeff Health tallied two goals and Alex Martinelli helped out with two assists.
The Blue Hen’s last game was the 600th of their head coach Bob Shillinglaw’s career. Shillinglaw became the first head man in collegiate men’s lacrosse to reach such a milestone.
Last time Hofstra and Delaware met, the Pride defeated the Blue Hens 10-5 at Delaware Stadium in Newark, DE. Selva had a career-high 14 saves for Hofstra to help the defense shut down the Blue Hens. The Pride win came at a cost, as attackman Lance Yapor separated his shoulder.
Saturday’s will be played at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, NY at 3 pm.
