Hofstra 3/23

[LILax]

The Blue Hens are 6-2 versus Hofstra since DeLuca took over at UD. However, both of those losses were brutal for the Hens. In 2021 Delaware was 7-1 in conference and 10-2 overall when they faced Hofstra in the first round of the CAAs at Hofstra (for some reason) when they lost a 10-9 heartbreaker. Hens had extremely high hopes for that season but were dashed in just 60 minutes on Long Island. The second DeLuca loss in 2022 was actually a catalyst for the Hens. After dropping that 12-11 decision at home in a lackluster performance, UD fell to 6-5 on the season. They went on to win seven straight games, including a first-round victory over Georgetown, before finally succumbing 10-8 to Cornell in the quarterfinals.

So that is all to say, you just never know when the Hens face Hofstra.

Despite some of the things you may read on this forum, Seth Tierney is an excellent game-day coach, particularly on the defensive end. He is an expert at taking away an opposing team’s strength. In this case he will focus almost exclusively on shutting down JP Ward. I am sure he watched Syracuse film from last week when they eliminated both Ward and Robinson and challenged the Hens young middies to beat them. I am not sure Hofstra has the same skill as Syracuse (who limited Duke to 4 goals yesterday BTW). But that won’t stop them from trying.

The Pride are bringing a disappointing 3-5 record to Newark with three wins against Wagner, St. John’s and Siena and five losses to Navy (16-8), Marist (12-10), Rutgers (13-8), UNC 21-9 and last week to Fairfield in the CAA opener 12-11.

Hofstra gives up 13.5 goals a game while scoring 12.25 (only 9.2 goals a game in 5 losses). The Pride is a very good passing team with over 60% of their goals coming on assists. Northern Californian Griffin Turner does an excellent job finding the open man on offense and not surprisingly, leads the team in assists with 17. He has some terrific shooters to pass to - John Madsen has 24 goals (44% shooting) in eight games and jitterbug dodger Rory Jones has 16 goals and is also a great interior passer. Colton Rudd (11g 8a) and Canadian Justin Sykes (13g 3a) are also proficient shooters. Sykes is an extremly physical dodger who likes to attack from GLE with a very strong left hand (a somewhat less aggressive version of Reid Bowering). As a team Hofstra shoots .279 which is actually not bad. The problem is they allow opponents to shoot .322, which is very bad.

The strength of this team is possessions. They win 56% of faceoffs driven primarily by Chase Patterson’s .591 winning percentage. They also get a ton of ground balls (averaging 31 a game). However, they also turn the ball over a ton (16.9 times a game ranked 50th in D1).

Despite giving up nearly 14 goals a game, the defense has some very athletic players including grad student JT Roselle (11 CTs and 19 GBs) who is a super-quick LSM transfer from Marist and UNC. I remember him scoring a bunch of goals at Marist. He is really a terrific athlete from Cold Spring Harbor on Strong Island. Blake Cooling (9 CTs and 14 gbs) a 6’2” 200 defender, has looked very good at times this year as well. Sophomore Will Delaney from Episcopal HS, outside of Philly, is also an unbelievably good athlete. He has the potential to be a dominant defender. Goalie Sean Henderson with an overall .452 save percentage is coming off his best game this year against Fairfield when he made 15 saves and allowed just 12 goals. He played well enough to win that game, but the offense just couldn’t get rolling.

I will not make any predictions for this game because as I mentioned earlier, it’s Hofstra. Anything can happen when they play UD. The Hens 6 on 6 defense was pretty good last week versus Syracuse, allowing just 10 even-strength goals. Cuse went 4-7 on the man-up offense, which really killed Delaware. Many, if not all, of those penalties were very avoidable – late hits, delay of game and interference calls were a combination of tick-tacky and excessive. Anyway, Delaware has to clean that up this week and stay out of the box, if possible. It would be a bonus to get Jason Kolar back after missing the last two games. He is the fastest offensive middie and can cause match-up problems for Hofstra. And JP Ward and Mike Robinson have to find ways to get loose. The Hens pick game at X has been used sparingly this year, but it is important to create better match ups on offense.

Gonna be cold and rainy (What else is new?) so get your waterproof gear out and support your local Blue Hens. They had 1,600 soaking fans out for Michigan. Be nice to see a big crowd again.

[77HEN]

Been waiting for you to post LILax. The weather looks abysmal for the game but we are hoping to go. Hens gotta get back to winning.

[Cluck U]

Thanks, LILax.

2.5+ inches of rain forecasted for tomorrow. Bring the boat shoes.

Definitely worth the extra $10 for the Club House pass…will need to warm up and dry out at half.

Hoping to make the game. Might wear my fishing waders.

Opening trout season weekend coming soon.

[tenn hen]

Thanks, LILax.

2.5+ inches of rain forecasted for tomorrow. Bring the boat shoes.

Definitely worth the extra $10 for the Club House pass…will need to warm up and dry out at half.

Hoping to make the game. Might wear my fishing waders.

Opening trout season weekend coming soon.

If you hurry home after the game, you might make it in time for the second half of the Dayton- Arizona second round game.

[Cluck U]

Thanks, LILax.

2.5+ inches of rain forecasted for tomorrow. Bring the boat shoes.

Definitely worth the extra $10 for the Club House pass…will need to warm up and dry out at half.

Hoping to make the game. Might wear my fishing waders.

Opening trout season weekend coming soon.

If you hurry home after the game, you might make it in time for the second half of the Dayton- Arizona second round game.

Nah...in Spring, my sports limit with regards to TV is reached pretty quickly. Much better things to do with one's time during the day. Time spent outdoors is awesome, even in the rain. Just have to gear up.

After the lacrosse game...perfect day to plant some Dahlias and to dig out and transplant some other stuff. Plants love this weather. Bonus: no need for a watering can.

[77HEN]

Thanks, LILax.

2.5+ inches of rain forecasted for tomorrow. Bring the boat shoes.

Definitely worth the extra $10 for the Club House pass…will need to warm up and dry out at half.

Hoping to make the game. Might wear my fishing waders.

Opening trout season weekend coming soon.

Damn, and after we had to sit through the Michigan game with such rain. The differential is $15 for seniors . My wife thinks we can sit inside and watch the game . Beat Hofstra!

[BlueHenBill]

Thanks, LILax.

2.5+ inches of rain forecasted for tomorrow. Bring the boat shoes.

Definitely worth the extra $10 for the Club House pass…will need to warm up and dry out at half.

Hoping to make the game. Might wear my fishing waders.

Opening trout season weekend coming soon.

Damn, and after we had to sit through the Michigan game with such rain. The differential is $15 for seniors . My wife thinks we can sit inside and watch the game . Beat Hofstra!

Seniors charged more than non-Senior adults?

[77HEN]

Just too miserable out to go there in the rain again. Watching flo sports with no audio.


The differential cost for the Stadium Box tickets is more for Seniors Bill because Senior general admission tickets are only $10.

[Henny]

Very sloppy start to the second half but to be expected, down 6-5 .

[Henny]

Robinson with his fourth of the game. 7-6.

The offense is finding some rhythm in this slop 7-7

Robinson with his fifth, 9-8 Hens!

Great play now on attack, schooling Hofstra 12-8 Hens.

Ellington with some nice saves.

Hens play tough down the stretch to take it. Ellington had a strong second half. Good to get this one .

[UD '01 grad]

Hens, 13-10 final

[77HEN]

Congrats to the Hens for persevering through another crappy weather day and getting the win over Hofstra. They had a slow start but improved steadily through the game. Good to see the face off advantage, good goalkeeping and the scorers getting back on track.

They get a scrimmage game next week (at Hampton) and then a week away in CT at Fairfield.