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UD advances to lacrosse title game

Dan Deckelbaum scored with just three seconds left to play to lift UD to a 13-12 victory over Towson University.

10:03 a.m., May 4, 2006--University of Delaware junior midfielder Dan Deckelbaum scored with just four seconds remaining to lift the men's lacrosse team to a dramatic 13-12 victory over host Towson University in a Colonial Athletic Association tournament game played Wednesday night.

Deckelbaum broke a 12-12 tie as he fired a shot past Towson goalkeeper Mark DeGroat from 12 yards out and set off a wild celebration by the Fightin' Blue Hens, who had not won at Towson since 2000.

With the victory, UD advances to the conference championship game for the second straight year. The Hens will travel to Hofstra University for the title game to be played at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6. Hofstra, which is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the most recent U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll, advanced with a 14-7 victory over Villanova University.

The winner of the CAA championship game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I championship tournament, with the loser in line for consideration for an at-large berth. Hofstra defeated UD 12-10 during the regular season.

With the victory over Towson, UD improved to 12-4 on the season.

“What a game,” UD Head Coach Bob Shillinglaw said. “Everyone here tonight got their money's worth. Both teams played their hearts out. I'm proud of our guys.”

Shillinglaw said that when Towson's Oliver Bacon tied the game at 12-12 with just 31 second left to play, the Hens “could have hung their heads” but instead they played on and “finished the job.”

“Lacrosse is that type of game, with a lot of runs, and we both made them,” Shillinglaw said. “Fortunately we came out on top at the end.”

Deckelbaum finished with three goals while Cam Howard had a career-high seven points on two goals and five assists and extended his point-scoring streak to 22 games.

Jordan Hall and Adam Zuder-Havens scored two goals each. Also scoring for the Hens were Vincent Giordano, Paul Rodriguez, Beau Davis and Marty Kupprion.

UD goalkeeper Tommy Scherr came up big, turning back a season-high 17 shots. Alex Smith, the national leader in face-offs, won 13 of 28, including a key draw late on which he got the ball to Deckelbaum, who then scored the winning goal.

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