[MEDIA RELEASE]
NEWARK, Del. (May 6, 2023) – Top-seeded Delaware defeated third-seeded Stony Brook 13-10 to win its second straight CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday evening from Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del. It marks the fifth CAA title in program history for the Blue Hens, who are the first team to repeat as CAA champions since 2016-17.
Delaware improves to 12-4 this season and receives the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse selection show will take place tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. Stony Brook concludes its inaugural CAA season 9-7 after making its first conference championship game appearance since 2015.
Photo Gallery: Delaware Blue Hens vs Stony Brook Seawolves 5/6/23
Matt Kilkeary recorded double digits saves for the second straight game between the pipes en route to Most Outstanding Player honors. Kilkeary turned away 14 shots and posted a .583 save percentage in the championship game. He was joined on the all-tournament team by JP Ward, who tallied a game-high six points on four goals and two assists to lead the Delaware attack. It marks Ward’s second hat trick of the championship and seventh this spring.
Ward got Delaware on the board for the second straight game, scoring the opening goal 3:56 into the contest. It was the first of three goals to begin the game for Delaware, as consecutive tallies by Jason Kolar and Cam Acchione gave the Blue Hens a 3-0 lead. Stony Brook scored back-to-back goals to pull within one, courtesy of Blake Behlen and Dylan Pallonetti; however, Delaware responded with the final two scores in the quarter and gained a 5-2 advantage after the opening stanza. Tye Kurtz added a man-up goal and broke the Delaware program record for career man-up goals (19) before Ward tallied his second of the frame.
Noah Armitage and Matt Anderson accounted for the first two goals in the second frame 42 seconds apart, both assisted by Behlen, and Stony Brook closed the deficit 5-4 at the 10:33 mark. Ward and Pallonetti traded goals before Kolar netted his second of the game with 4:00 remaining in the half as Delaware took a 7-5 lead into the break.
Delaware outscored the Seawolves 3-1 in the third, pushing its advantage to 10-6. Acchione opened the scoring in the second half before Mike Robinson extended the Blue Hen run to 3-0 at the 7:58 mark. The teams traded goals in the final five minutes, with Will Button finding the back of the net for Stony Brook and Nick Jessen scoring for Delaware.
The Blue Hens scored three of the first four goals in the final frame, gaining their largest advantage at 13-7 with 7:08 remaining. Ward, Robinson and Kurtz added goals for Delaware in the fourth quarter. Stony Brook finished the contest on the 3-0 run, outscoring the Blue Hens 4-3 in the period, but the Blue Hens led wire-to-wire for the victory.
Pallonetti paced Stony Brook with five points on four goals and one assist, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. He was accompanied by Jamison MacLachlan, who tallied 29 saves for the tournament, had 14 saves, and a .519 save percentage on Saturday.
2023 CAA Men’s Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Matt Kilkeary, Delaware (MOP)
Tye Kurtz, Delaware
Joe Speers, Delaware
JP Ward, Delaware
Jamison MacLachlan, Stony Brook
Dylan Pallonetti, Stony Brook
Michael Sabella, Stony Brook
Jack Mulcahy, Drexel
Luke Tomak, Drexel
Kyle Berkeley, Towson
Garret Zungailia, Towson