With the No. 1 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association playoffs all locked up, one would think Saturday’s regular season finale at Delaware would not be a huge game for the No. 2 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team.
Not according to UMass coach Greg Cannella.
“We really need to approach this [as] another huge game in our season,” said Cannella of Saturday’s tilt with the reigning CAA champion Blue Hens.
The Minutemen (12-0, 5-0 CAA) are quite familiar with Delaware, especially after last season. The Blue Hens came to Garber Field and defeated UMass, 9-7, in the CAA championship game, leaving the Minutemen on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament. A week earlier, UMass beat Delaware at Garber in the final game of the regular season.
Cannella acknowledged that revenge has been on the minds of the coaching staff and the players, but said all those emotions go out the window once the game starts.
“You might think about it to help motivate you during the week, but I don’t think it does anything to you once the whistle blows to start the game,” said Cannella.
This year, the tables have turned. The Minutemen appear to be the class of the conference and strong contenders for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, while the Blue Hens (6-8, 1-4 CAA) are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.
But Cannella knows better than to count out Delaware, especially since the team’s seniors will be honored prior to the game on Senior Night.
“I know for sure that at home on Senior Night … they’ll be ready to go,” said Cannella.
UMass was ready to go last time out against Hofstra. The Minutemen grinded out a 14-13 victory over the Pride on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, avenging last year’s embarrassing 14-5 defeat to Hofstra.
After opening up a 10-6 lead midway through the third quarter, the Pride caught fire, reeling off five straight goals to take their first lead of the game, 11-10, with 14:52 remaining.
UMass regained its composure in the fourth, however, netting four unanswered scores to hold off Hofstra and remain undefeated.
Cannella liked the resiliency his squad showed in the contest and didn’t consider the tightness of the game to be a concern in regards execution.
“It wasn’t like we played poorly, so you know the guys are preparing the right way because they played well,” said Cannella. “We just played a really good team and fortunately we came out on top.”
The Minutemen will need another strong showing on Saturday if they hope to finish the season unbeaten.
Despite their 1-4 record against CAA opponents, the Blue Hens have had a rigorous schedule, having only played two conference games at home to date. Delaware lost tough games at No. 14 Penn State, Towson and Hofstra, while its sole CAA victory was a 16-6 blowout against Saint Joseph’s.
Senior attackman Grant Kaleikau runs the show for the Blue Hen attack, leading the team by a wide margin with his 55 points. The next closest total is 22. To compare, Kaleikau is two points shy of Will Manny’s total of 57.
Cannella has been impressed with Kaleikau and calls him “one of the premier attackmen in our conference.”
While other members of last year’s squad remain, Delaware has suffered some critical losses from its championship team.
Former goalkeeper Noah Fossner and defensemen Pat Dowling and Matt Stefurak were key contributors to last year’s title run and leaders for the Blue Hens, said Cannella. The trio graduated last year.
Regardless of its sub-par record, Delaware will be ready to play and if history repeats itself, UMass will be in for another nail-biting affair.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Newark, Del.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Sellner.
