PHILADELPHIA — A month ago, the Delaware men’s lacrosse team was going nowhere fast.

The Blue Hens were mired in a three-game losing streak that left them 0-2 in the CAA.

But five games and five victories later, the Blue Hens are going to the NCAA Tournament.

Top-seeded Delaware won the program’s first conference crown since 2011 with an impressive 11-6 victory over No. 2 Towson in the CAA championship game on a rainy and windy Saturday afternoon at Drexel.

The Blue Hens (11-5) brought home the program’s fourth CAA championship by outscoring their two opponents by a combined 30-12 score in the CAA tourney.

“It was an absolute team effort from the coaching staff down,” said UD’s Tye Kurtz, who was named the tourney MVP. “I couldn’t be more proud of the defense for the way they played today and Matt was absolutely outstanding in the net.”

With the contest tied 3-3 in the first quarter, Delaware ran off seven of the game’s next eight goals to take control. Mark Bieda’s goal with 11:48 left in the game gave the Hens their 10-4 advantage.

The Tigers (7-9) had won five of the last eight titles. The Hens’ five-game winning streak started with an 11-10 win over Towson.

Kurtz finished with six goals Saturday, tying the CAA tournament record that teammate Mike Robinson also equaled in a semifinal win over Drexel.

Five other players had one goal apiece on Saturday. Kilkeary finished with six saves.

The all-tournament team included UD’s J.P. Ward, Robinson, Kilkeary and Kurtz.

Delaware will be making the program’s seventh appearance in the NCAAs. The bracket will be announced today at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

Softball

Hens win first CAA title: After its final three-game series was rained out, Delaware was declared the CAA regular-season champion based on its winning

percentage in league games.
The Blue Hens went 11-4 in the CAA for a .733 winning percentage. The title is the program’s first in the Colonial.

“To be able to control our seeding without needing to wait and see how other series play out speaks to the consistency we’ve had all season,” said Delaware coach Jen Steele.

“The last few weeks have been tough and it’s been difficult not being able to control whether we were able to play. I’m just really proud of the team for putting us in a position to bring home the regular-season title to Delaware.
“The rest has been good for our bodies and we are excited to take the field at the CAA Championship next week.”

The Blue Hens, who last played April 24, will be the No. 1 seed at next week’s CAA Championship, which will be held on the campus of Elon. Delaware will play its first game at 4 p.m. Thursday against the winner of that morning’s matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed.

College baseball

DelTech splits two games in regional: Delaware Tech’s baseball team opened the NJCAA Region 19 Tournament with a 4-3 win over County College of Morris before falling Lackawanna, 10-5, in 10 innings Friday.

The tourney resumes Monday with DelTech hosting Mercer at 3 p.m. DelTech needs a victory to reach Tuesday’s championship game against Lackawana.

College football

Hens add defensive back: Alex Villas, a defensive back who played at Stetson, has announced that he’s transferring to Delaware.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Delray Beach, Florida will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He had 33 tackles and two interceptions for the Hatters last fall.