MOUNT ST. MARY'S at DELAWARE
Saturday, February 8th | 12 PM
Newark, Del. | Delaware Stadium
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ABOUT THE TEAM
The Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse team will kick off their 2020 campaign on Saturday at Delaware. The Mountaineers will look to build off a strong 2019 season where they posted a 9-7 overall record and a 5-2 Northeast Conference record. After an 0-4 start last year, the team went on to win eight out of the last eleven games to win the Northeast Conference regular season and host the 2019 playoffs. The Mount would eventually fall to NEC champion Robert Morris 13-12 (OT) in the semifinals.
Defensively, the Mount returns their entire starting four of Bryan McIntosh (51 CTO/33 GBs), Joshua Davies (12 CTO/17 GBs), Zach Roberts (8 CTO/23 GBs), and Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Dylan Furnback (53 SV%) in net to be the backbone of this squad. On offense, the Mountaineers return six of their top eight goal scorers. Key contributors will be senior Brendan Doyle (16g, 11a), senior Joe Bethke (21g, 8a), senior Brenden McCarthy (21g, 13a), junior Luke Frankeny (27g, 6a), and senior Matt Haggerty (10g, 6a). Junior faceoff specialist Sam Stephan (52 FO%, 104 GBs) will look to be the spark for this Mountaineer team at the X to help them return to the Northeast Conference Playoffs.
TEAM CAPTAINS
Bryan McIntosh, Brendan Doyle, and Zach Roberts were selected by their teammates as team captains for the 2020 campaign. The three captains have logged a combined 103 games played that includes 52 games started. For more information on this year's captains, click here.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS
In 2019, Delaware posted a 10-5 overall record and 3-3 record in conference play. They earned a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Playoffs for the second straight year but fell to Towson by a 18-11 margin in the semifinals. The Blue Hens were picked to finish third in this year's CAA Preseason Coaches Poll, with senior attackmen Charlie Kitchen (37g, 27a) and senior goalie Matt DeLuca (58 SV%) garnering Preseason ALL-CAA honors.
ALL-TIME SERIES
In a familiar battle, this will be the ninth straight season, including fifth straight season opener for the Mount, that the Mountaineers will battle the Blue Hens. Delaware currently holds a 15-3 advantage in the all-time series over the Mount and has won the past three matchups. The last time the Mountaineers were able to take down Delaware was back in 2016 where they defeated the Blue Hens 14-11 in Newark, Delaware. In the most recent matchup, the Mount fell to the Blue Hens 11-8 at Waldron Family Stadium just a year ago. Chris DiPretoro and Luke Frankeny netted two goals apiece for the Mountaineers.
PRESEASON POLLS
In the newly revamped Northeast Men's Lacrosse Conference, the Mountaineers were tabbed to finish third in the 'West Division'. Robert Morris received six votes for the top preseason spot on the West side while Hobart was the unanimous pick for first place in the 'East Division'. For more on the new conference and preseason polls, click here.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
After opening their 2020 season at Delaware, the Mount men's lacrosse team will head to Towson
for an in-state matchup on February 15th. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
