Monmouth 2024

[LILax]

This Saturday Delaware heads up the Jersey Shore to play Monmouth University (3-2) for the seventh time. The Hens are 6-0 versus the Hawks all-time with the UD outscoring Monmouth 46-14 in the last three outings.

Monmouth brings a 3-2 record to Saturday’s match-up with wins over 0-6 Mt. St. Mary’s, 0-5 Wagner and LIU. The Hawks two losses were against NJ brethren Princeton and NJIT by scores 15-5 and 14-13 respectively. Monmouth is led by freshman attackman Brendan Dundas who has 11 goals and 4 assists as the quarterback of this offense. However, he does not pose much of a one-on-one threat from X. In the three games I have seen, he has been manhandled by the much more physical defenders and turned the ball over a bunch (14 TOs). The other two attackman, grad student Connor Macrae and sophomore transfer from Marquette, Connor Gorman, both have 10 goals and 5 assists. Gorman is a big lanky lefty who will try to get to the center of the field to get off a shot at all costs. He tends to force things a little bit and is also prone to a lot of turnovers for an off-ball player.

The Hawks midfield is led by Luke Cole (6g 3a), Sean Ketchen (4g 4a) and Jake Schneider (3g 4a). I am not sure if he is injured but Monmouth is missing sophomore sharpshooter Ty Cafferelli (6 goals) the last two games. He led Monmouth in scoring last year with 31 goals as a freshman. If he is back he will make a difference at midfield.

The Hawks defense gives up just 11.4 goals a game and is led by some undersized but athletic poles. Sophomore Miles Edminston (5’ 10” 155lbs) will probably match up with Mike Robinson on the lefty wing and beefy Denver transfer Gabe Bowen-Slott (6’2” 225lbs) will try to contain JP Ward. I think the Hens will have a significant advantage in these matchups. If they try to double team either attackman Delaware should have a field day shooting inside. The Hawks defense was terrible on slides against Princeton and most recently Mt. St. Mary’s. The shots will be there, they just need to make them when they are open. The Hens are playing without two top midfielders (Cam Acchione and Drew Lenkaitis), and are relying on young players to step in. In the past couple of weeks I have seen great progress from these guys, but at times they have rushed shots or swatted at GBs on the crease rather than making the play. Delaware’s shooting % aside from Robinson (.375) and Ward (.357) has been abysmal. Nick Jessen (.211), Brendan Powers (.167), Jason Kolar (.176) and John McCurry (.107) need to shoot better if the Hens want to win the CAA. It is a minor miracle that they have averaged 12.25 goals a game. The good news is that none of these guys are forcing shots. They are just missing them. Lots of rushed shots in my opinion. These guys need to slow the game down a little bit in order to be successful inside. And inside is where Monmouth is most vulnerable.

Monmouth has a really nice lefty goalie in Tommy Heller, a grad transfer from Albany, whose save percentage is .517. Heller looked terrific in games against Princeton and LIU when he had 18 and 16 saves respectively. Lefties can be tricky sometimes, but the Hens should be able to get 32-40 shots off on Saturday. Make half of them and it’s a great day. Should be fun and rainy.

[BlueHenBill]

LI Lax, Thanks again for your fine scouting report for Monmouth. Any idea how long UD will be with out Cam Acchione and Drew Lenkaitis?

[LILax]

LI Lax, Thanks again for your fine scouting report for Monmouth. Any idea how long UD will be with out Cam Acchione and Drew Lenkaitis?

I have no idea. Cam could be back this week. No idea what his injury was last week. He played the entire game against Penn, so I assume he was injured in practice.

Lenkaitis might not make it back this year from what I heard.

[BlueHenBill]

LI Lax, Thanks again for your fine scouting report for Monmouth. Any idea how long UD will be with out Cam Acchione and Drew Lenkaitis?

I have no idea. Cam could be back this week. No idea what his injury was last week. He played the entire game against Penn, so I assume he was injured in practice.

Lenkaitis might not make it back this year from what I heard.

LILax, Thank you. I hope UD gets Cam back ASAP. Sorry to hear that Lenkaitis may be sidelined the entire season. Since Lenkaitis appeared on only one game in 2023, I am guessing due to injury. If so, this is the second season in a row that he is not healthy enough to play. I believe that Lenkaitis was a Fr in 2020 when covid wiped out the season. He played well in 2021 and 2022 The covid year of 2020 and probably a medical redshirt year in 2023 (and maybe in 2024?) don't count against him, so he probably still has at least one season of eligibility remaining. and possibly two. If he is haelthy enough to play, still wanst to play and is still in Grad school at UD next year, he could play in at least 2025.

[LILax]

Good news, Cam was back today and had a nice game. Bad news, Logan Premtaj and Jason Kolar were not dressed. Good news, OJ Morris had the game of his life. Bad news, the Hens turned the ball over a ton. Good news, they won despite 17 turnovers. And extremely good news, Brendan Powers and John McCurry improved their shooting a TON today.

Onto Syracuse in Virginia.

[Cluck U]

Good news, Cam was back today and had a nice game. Bad news, Logan Premtaj and Jason Kolar were not dressed. Good news, OJ Morris had the game of his life. Bad news, the Hens turned the ball over a ton. Good news, they won despite 17 turnovers. And extremely good news, Brendan Powers and John McCurry improved their shooting a TON today.

Onto Syracuse in Virginia.

Happy (very) to see McCurry and Co. improve their shooting. We are going to need those guys to step up.

More good news: no one drowned (although the bus might get washed off the road on the way back).

What is it about Saturdays this Spring? Ugh. People in Seattle invented Starbucks and grunge music because they were losing their minds in this kind of weather.

[77HEN]

Good news, Cam was back today and had a nice game. Bad news, Logan Premtaj and Jason Kolar were not dressed. Good news, OJ Morris had the game of his life. Bad news, the Hens turned the ball over a ton. Good news, they won despite 17 turnovers. And extremely good news, Brendan Powers and John McCurry improved their shooting a TON today.

Onto Syracuse in Virginia.

Saw all that in the stats (from top of ski mountain in WY) Good for the team to get back in the win column. Mike Robinson must be getting a ton of attention from defenses, time to dish out a lot of assists.

[dchen]

From Inside Lacrosse:

20. Delaware
Kevin’s Vote: 20
The Blue Hens handled their first conference matchup of the season, defeating Monmouth 16-7 in the early game on Saturday.

For how much love JP Ward and Mike Robinson get offensively, Delaware fans have to love the midfield production and promise. Coach Ben DeLuca is getting a lot of guys rotated in through the box and they all have a bounce or a level of craftiness. Brendan Powers, Tyler Owings and Hank D’Ambrogi are up and comers, Nick Jessen and Jason Kolar can both get to their left hand and draw slides, and Cam and Matt Acchione are always fun to watch.

Their last non-CAA matchup is a big one this coming weekend as the Hens travel to Chantilly, Va., to take on Syracuse in a neutral-site Corrigan Sports contest

[LILax]

From Inside Lacrosse:

20. Delaware
Kevin’s Vote: 20
The Blue Hens handled their first conference matchup of the season, defeating Monmouth 16-7 in the early game on Saturday.

For how much love JP Ward and Mike Robinson get offensively, Delaware fans have to love the midfield production and promise. Coach Ben DeLuca is getting a lot of guys rotated in through the box and they all have a bounce or a level of craftiness. Brendan Powers, Tyler Owings and Hank D’Ambrogi are up and comers, Nick Jessen and Jason Kolar can both get to their left hand and draw slides, and Cam and Matt Acchione are always fun to watch.

Their last non-CAA matchup is a big one this coming weekend as the Hens travel to Chantilly, Va., to take on Syracuse in a neutral-site Corrigan Sports contest

That is a very fair assessment of the Hens. The middies are going to be the difference between having a very good season and a great season. So much promise in these athletic young guys. And, having Matt Acchione healthy for the first time since his freshman year could be a huge boost for this squad. I always thought that it was interesting that these identical twins played almost exclusively with opposite dominant hands. Cam the righty and Matt the lefty.

Just saw that the game against Syracuse this weekend will be covered by FloSports.