Delaware downs UMass in CAA final

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - With the score tied at three at halftime, Delaware scored six goals over the final 30 minutes to defeat the No. 16 UMass men's lacrosse team in the CAA Championship game, 9-7, on Saturday night at Garber Field.

Kevin Kaminski scored three goals for the Blue Hens while Noah Fossner made nine saves to help Delaware claim its second straight conference crown. Will Manny had two goals and an assist for the Minutemen and Tim McCormack made 7 stops. UMass can still secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament when the selection show is aired tomorrow night at 9 PM on ESPNU.

Faceoffs were the key to the night for Delaware, which won 13-of-19 draws throughout the game to secure possession for much of the contest. The Blue Hens also held a narrow edge in shots at 31-26 while the Minutemen converted on the game's only extra-man opportunities.

The Blue Hens bolted out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of goals from John Mills on shots from the left side of the cage. The Massachusetts offense came alive in the second quarter when Manny and Art Kell hooked up for UMass' first goal just 92 seconds into the quarter. Kell was then on the receiving end of a goal two minutes later to knot the score at two on a goal from in tight.

Delaware retook the lead with seven minutes to play on a goal from Nick Diachenko before Mike Fetterly made it a 3-3 game with his sixth goal of the season to close out the first half scoring.

UMass took its only lead of the game early in the third quarter when Ryan Hantverk buried a shot past Fossner for his 18th goal of the year, but Delaware quickly silenced the Minutemen with three straight tallies to end the quarter on goals from three different scorers.

Despite Massachusetts notching back-to-back goal from Manny and Kell midway through the fourth quarter, the Blue Hens once again scored three consecutive goals over a five minute span to maintain control. Kaminski scored two of his three tallies to give Delaware the lead for good.