HENS HOLD OFF BUTLER

BY KAREN BISCHER

Assistant Sports Editor

By the looks of the pile of exuberant players on the field of Delaware Mini Stadium, it would have appeared the Delaware men's lacrosse team's 10-9 win over Butler Saturday was a national championship. After the final second had ticked off of the scoreboard, the players threw themselves on top of each other into a giant victorious heap.

Their joy stemmed from winning the battle of the hard-fought game and from beating the ninth-ranked team in the country.

At 4:20, Hens junior attacker John Grant, who had been kept quiet by the Bulldogs defense, scored the game-winning goal, and when the game ended almost four-and-a-half minutes later, fans and players alike erupted into cheers.

Delaware (2-1, 0-1 America East), which is ranked 20th in the nation, drew first blood in the contest, when junior attackman Kevin Gattie scored with 12:42 remaining in the first quarter.

Hens coach Bob Shillinglaw said scoring first was a factor that helped his team's style of play throughout the game.

"It was very important for us to get out early," he said. "Butler has come out strong on everyone this season ... it was good for us to get out of the starting blocks fast."

The Bulldogs (2-1, 0-0 Great Western League) were led by attackman D'Arcy Sweet, who scored three goals during the game.

At the half, the game stood at 6-5 in Delaware's favor. Throughout the third quarter, the Hens could not keep the game out of reach by more than one goal, as every Delaware goal was answered by a goal from the Bulldogs.

In the fourth quarter, with the game tied at eight, Butler's Cory Kahoun smashed an unassisted go-ahead goal past Hens goalie Ron Jedlicka with 7:39 left to play.

Shillinglaw said his players handled the situation well.

"There was no sense of panic or extreme urgency," he said. "I was pleased to see the players keep to the same game plan [as the rest of the game]."

Delaware struck back with a game-tying goal from junior attacker Kevin Lavey. The goal, scored with 4:49 left, was his fourth of the day.

Shillinglaw said the win will be a help in going through the rest of the season.

"To beat Butler gives us confidence and we enjoyed the win today, but we've got to get ready for Vermont," he said of the team's next opponent.

Delaware will face the America East rival Catamounts at Delaware Mini-Stadium tomorrow at 3 p.m.