Newark, Del.– The Robert Morris men's lacrosse team will face the Delaware Blue Hens in the first-round play-in game of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Delaware will serve as the home team and the host site, with game time being set for 7 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.

GAME #1
Robert Morris Colonials (10-5, 4-1 ASUN) at Delaware Blue Hens (11-5, 3-2 CAA)
May 11, 2022 // 7:00 p.m. EST // Newark, Delaware – Delaware Stadium
Live Stats: Bluehens.com // Video: ESPN+
 
History w/ Delaware
Overall: 0-4 | Home: 0-2 | Away: 0-2 | Neutral: 0-0
This will mark the fifth meeting between the Colonials and the Blue Hens. The play-in game first meeting between the two teams since RMU left the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for the NEC in 2009. This means, the RMU freshman lacrosse class was 6-years old the last time the Colonials faced the Blue Hens. During their four years in the CAA, the Colonials never beat the Blue Hens in conference competition.

Scouting the Blue Hens
Ben DeLuca is in his fifth season with Delaware, where he has put together a 41-23 record with the program.
 
Sophomore JP Ward leads the Blue Hens in points with 62 on the season. Goalkeeper Matt Kilkeary has made 13 appearances in net for UD this season with a 10.69 GAA and a .521 SV%. 
 
Delaware finished the regular season with an 9-5 record, while going 3-2 in conference play. The Blue Hens defeated both Drexel and Townson to take home the 2022 CAA Tournament title.
 
Not an Underdog
Robert Morris started the season 0-3 with losses against Duke, Stoney Brook and Bucknell. Despite the difficult start, RMU went on finish with a 10-2 record over the final 12 games. By defeating #1 Utah in the ASUN Championship game, the Colonials became the ASUN's first men's lacrosse champions since the 2014 season. Additionally, first-year head coach Craig McDonald became the first head coach in program history to have won the conference championship in his first season.
 
Nationally Ranked
Going into Wednesday's meeting, the Colonials are scoring 13.27 goals per game. Scoring their third-most of the season (18) against Utah in the ASUN Championship game.

Taggart Clark sits among the top 15 players in the country when it comes to goals scored per game. Clark, who is averaging 3.13 goals per game is ranked 12th in all of NCAA Division I men' lacrosse. Corson Kealey now ranked 42nd in the NCAA in goals per game, averaging 2.6 goals per game.

Sophomore Bo Columbus ranks 56th in the nation in ground balls per game with 4.47. Additionally, the DII-transfer ranks 22^nd in the nation in face-off win percentage, getting the ball 55.1% on the time on the draw.

The RMU scoring offense ranks 27th in the country. The Colonials also closed out ASUN play by scoring the most goals of any ASUN team this season in both overall (172) and conference (62) play during the regular season.

Don't Look Directly into the (A)SUN
Corson Kealey finished ASUN competition second in points (54) and third in goals (38). Taggart Clark finished in second place for scoring (43) and third place for total points (53). Dan Taddeo holds the second-place spot for season assists with 25. Meanwhile Jake Boudreau finished ranked 6th in the conference with 18 helpers in 2022.

The Colonials are second in the ASUN when in both scoring offense and goals per game. The Colonials are second in the ASUN when in both scoring offense and points per game.

Unsung Heroes
The Colonials have allowed just 182 goals to get by them this season. In 2022, RMU faced three teams with a Top-25 scoring offense in Duke (8th), Bucknell (10th) and High Point (19th).

James Leary, Owen Down, and Evan Hellmich are all ranked nationally in CTO per game. Leary leads the pack in 11th place, while Down and Hellmich are tied for 62nd.

The Colonials rank 10th in the nation in man-down defense, 14th in clearing percentage and 12th in the nation in CTO per game.

All-Tournaments Honors
Five members of the RMU men's lacrosse team were selected for all-tournament honors. Owen Down, James Leary, Will Johansen, Elliot Holden, and Jake Bourdreau were all named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team. Boudreau's seven-goal, ten-point game, earned him the All-Tournament MVP honor.