Stony Brook 4/13
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 1:03 pm
There is an old expression that an injured animal is more dangerous than a healthy one. Well, over the next two weeks the Hens will be facing two teams that are figuratively “injured animals” in Stony Brook and Drexel. Each of these teams had high expectations for this season, but after struggling over the first half, both are fighting for their CAA lives trying to find a way into the top four.
Delaware beat Stony Brook twice last year by three goals in each game. The games were highlighted by UD getting out to pretty good leads through three quarters and then Dylan Pallonetti and Co. making a late run to make things a little less comfortable for the Hens. Stony Brook has had a pretty disappointing season so far with a 4-7 record, losing to Rutgers, Penn State, Air Force, Providence, North Carolina, Monmouth and Towson. However, three of those losses were by just one goal (Air Force, Providence and Towson). They are coming off their second win in the CAA with a pretty convincing victory over Drexel by a score of 13-8 on Long Island last weekend. So they are probably feeling good about themselves as they head into Newark this weekend.
What to expect from Stony Brook
Stony Brook has a pretty good offense scoring 12.27 goals per game and shoot 30% as a team. But what is more impressive, 63% of their goals are assisted. UMBC transfer Nick Dupuis is the quarterback of this efficient offense and has 40 assists through 11 games (3.64 per game), which ranks him #2 behind just Yale’s Matt Brandau. He is a magician with his passes, works primarily from X and seems to always find the open cutter. Dupuis is not fast nor physical, but he is quick and shifty, so I think they’ll try to keep the ball out of his hands as much as they can and avoid getting his defender hung up. Towson was successful holding him to just 3 assists and ZERO shots in their 9-8 win by sending double teams at him at times. They made it a very sloppy game and forced the Seawolves into 19 turnovers. The Hens might put a shorty on Dupuis to ensure they have a pole on Canadian sharpshooter Noah Armitage (17 G) and middie Jack Dougherty (14G) at all times.
It's crazy to talk about the Stony Brook offense and not mention Dylan Pallonetti (38G 9A), who can shoot from anywhere on the field with accuracy (34%) if left unattended. The Hens will need to keep a long pole on the pre-season All-American’s hands from anywhere inside 15 yards, and sometimes beyond. All that said, the Seawolves are the 29th ranked offense – Not great but not bad.
The bigger issue for the Hens will be taking advantage of a decent but not great defense (ranked 38th). Delaware will need to put 12-13 goals past goalie Tommy Wilk who has a .559 save percentage this year. The defense is led by all-CAA LSM Christian Loud who has 12 CT and 32 GBs, Carson Forney, Sean Conk (6’5” 230 lbs), SSDM Ben Morschauser (26GBs 8CTs) and the very physical close defenseman Michael Sabella (15CTs, 22GBs) who I believe will cover JP Ward.
As far as possessions, the Hens could have a slight advantage at FOGO over hot and cold freshman Chris Esposito (46%) who has taken the majority of draws for the Seawolves. As a team they win just over 45% (ranked 58th). Additionally, Stony Brook turns the ball over a bit more than the Hens averaging 15.36 turnovers a game (ranked 23rd) while the Hens lead D1 lacrosse with just 12.5 a game.
If the Hens can win the majority of draws and control the tempo of this game, they could come away with a victory similar to last year’s games. It would be great to see the Hens really open up the offense against the Seawolves, but only three teams have scored more than 13 goals against SB this year (Sacred Heart, Rutgers and Penn State). The Hens looked really good offensively last week with the attack and midfield playing well together. Nobody seemed to be forcing anything. It was great seeing Brendan Powers taking advantage of shortsticks too. He has been terrific all year scoring from X when matched up with a shorty.
A 13-10 win would be a great result for the Hens on Saturday. Actually, any win will be terrific. Can’t wait.
Delaware beat Stony Brook twice last year by three goals in each game. The games were highlighted by UD getting out to pretty good leads through three quarters and then Dylan Pallonetti and Co. making a late run to make things a little less comfortable for the Hens. Stony Brook has had a pretty disappointing season so far with a 4-7 record, losing to Rutgers, Penn State, Air Force, Providence, North Carolina, Monmouth and Towson. However, three of those losses were by just one goal (Air Force, Providence and Towson). They are coming off their second win in the CAA with a pretty convincing victory over Drexel by a score of 13-8 on Long Island last weekend. So they are probably feeling good about themselves as they head into Newark this weekend.
What to expect from Stony Brook
Stony Brook has a pretty good offense scoring 12.27 goals per game and shoot 30% as a team. But what is more impressive, 63% of their goals are assisted. UMBC transfer Nick Dupuis is the quarterback of this efficient offense and has 40 assists through 11 games (3.64 per game), which ranks him #2 behind just Yale’s Matt Brandau. He is a magician with his passes, works primarily from X and seems to always find the open cutter. Dupuis is not fast nor physical, but he is quick and shifty, so I think they’ll try to keep the ball out of his hands as much as they can and avoid getting his defender hung up. Towson was successful holding him to just 3 assists and ZERO shots in their 9-8 win by sending double teams at him at times. They made it a very sloppy game and forced the Seawolves into 19 turnovers. The Hens might put a shorty on Dupuis to ensure they have a pole on Canadian sharpshooter Noah Armitage (17 G) and middie Jack Dougherty (14G) at all times.
It's crazy to talk about the Stony Brook offense and not mention Dylan Pallonetti (38G 9A), who can shoot from anywhere on the field with accuracy (34%) if left unattended. The Hens will need to keep a long pole on the pre-season All-American’s hands from anywhere inside 15 yards, and sometimes beyond. All that said, the Seawolves are the 29th ranked offense – Not great but not bad.
The bigger issue for the Hens will be taking advantage of a decent but not great defense (ranked 38th). Delaware will need to put 12-13 goals past goalie Tommy Wilk who has a .559 save percentage this year. The defense is led by all-CAA LSM Christian Loud who has 12 CT and 32 GBs, Carson Forney, Sean Conk (6’5” 230 lbs), SSDM Ben Morschauser (26GBs 8CTs) and the very physical close defenseman Michael Sabella (15CTs, 22GBs) who I believe will cover JP Ward.
As far as possessions, the Hens could have a slight advantage at FOGO over hot and cold freshman Chris Esposito (46%) who has taken the majority of draws for the Seawolves. As a team they win just over 45% (ranked 58th). Additionally, Stony Brook turns the ball over a bit more than the Hens averaging 15.36 turnovers a game (ranked 23rd) while the Hens lead D1 lacrosse with just 12.5 a game.
If the Hens can win the majority of draws and control the tempo of this game, they could come away with a victory similar to last year’s games. It would be great to see the Hens really open up the offense against the Seawolves, but only three teams have scored more than 13 goals against SB this year (Sacred Heart, Rutgers and Penn State). The Hens looked really good offensively last week with the attack and midfield playing well together. Nobody seemed to be forcing anything. It was great seeing Brendan Powers taking advantage of shortsticks too. He has been terrific all year scoring from X when matched up with a shorty.
A 13-10 win would be a great result for the Hens on Saturday. Actually, any win will be terrific. Can’t wait.