Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's lacrosse

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
men's lacrosse
Founded1948; 76 years ago (1948)
UniversityUniversity of Delaware
Head coachBen DeLuca (since 2018 season)
StadiumDelaware Stadium
(capacity: 16,730)
LocationNewark, Delaware
ConferenceCAA
NicknameFightin' Blue Hens
ColorsRoyal blue and gold[1]
   
NCAA Tournament Final Fours
2007
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1984, 1999, 2007, 2022
NCAA Tournament appearances
(8) 1984, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
2007, 2010, 2011, 2022, 2023
Conference regular season championships
(24) 1961, 1962, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2021, 2022, 2023

The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's lacrosse team represents the University of Delaware in NCAA Division I men's college lacrosse. Delaware currently competes as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and plays its home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

History

Head coach Bob Shillinglaw led the Blue Hens for over 30 years and is only the second man to coach 500 lacrosse games.

In 2007, Delaware was ranked 15th in the country heading into the 2007 NCAA tournament. The team had won seven games in a row and the CAA tournament. Delaware advanced to the semifinals (Final Four), defeating #2 Virginia before losing to Johns Hopkins 8–3. It marked the team's only NCAA Final Four.

In the program's history, Delaware has produced several notable players, including NCAA Player of the Year John Grant, Jr. among the world's best lacrosse players, Anthony DiMarzo among the all-time leaders in Division I career assists, Jordan Hall of the Major League Lacrosse Rochester Rattlers, Matt Alrich, Chris Collins, Keevin Galbraith, and Curtis Dickson.

In 2022, the Delaware Blue Hens upset the #2 ranked Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Cornell 10-8 in the Quarterfinals.

The Hens have won 6 NCAA Tournament games in 8 tournaments.

Season Results

The following is a list of Delaware's results by season as an NCAA Division I program:

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Mickey Heinecken (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1966–1972)
1971 Mickey Heinecken 9–3 8–2 1st
1972 Mickey Heinecken 8–3 6–2 3rd
Mickey Heinecken: 65–37 (.637) 53–21 (.716)
Jim Grube (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1973–1974)
1973 Jim Grube 5–8 5–4
1974 Jim Grube 7–5 4–4
Jim Grube (East Coast Conference) (1975–1978)
1975 Jim Grube 10–2 4–0 1st
1976 Jim Grube 11–1 4–0 1st
1977 Jim Grube 9–4 4–0 1st
1978 Jim Grube 7–7 3–1 1st
Jim Grube: 49–27 (.645) 24–9 (.727)
Bob Shillinglaw (East Coast Conference) (1979–1991)
1979 Bob Shillinglaw 13–2 4–0 1st
1980 Bob Shillinglaw 8–8 4–0 1st
1981 Bob Shillinglaw 8–8 4–0 1st
1982 Bob Shillinglaw 6–10 4–0 1st
1983 Bob Shillinglaw 8–8 4–1 2nd
1984 Bob Shillinglaw 12–4 5–0 1st NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1985 Bob Shillinglaw 9–7 4–1 T–1st
1986 Bob Shillinglaw 10–6 6–0 1st
1987 Bob Shillinglaw 8–8 5–1 2nd
1988 Bob Shillinglaw 6–10 4–2 2nd
1989 Bob Shillinglaw 8–8 5–1 3rd
1990 Bob Shillinglaw 7–9 4–2 3rd
1991 Bob Shillinglaw 6–10 3–1 2nd
Bob Shillinglaw (America East Conference) (1992–2001)
1992 Bob Shillinglaw 8–7 4–0 1st
1993 Bob Shillinglaw 5–9 4–0 1st
1994 Bob Shillinglaw 8–6 4–0 1st
1995 Bob Shillinglaw 6–9 4–1 2nd
1996 Bob Shillinglaw 8–7 4–2 3rd
1997 Bob Shillinglaw 3–12 2–4 5th
1998 Bob Shillinglaw 9–6 3–2 2nd
1999 Bob Shillinglaw 14–3 5–0 1st NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
2000 Bob Shillinglaw 10–6 4–1 T–1st
2001 Bob Shillinglaw 6–9 3–2 3rd
Bob Shillinglaw (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2017)
2002 Bob Shillinglaw 3–11 0–6 7th
2003 Bob Shillinglaw 5–10 0–5 6th
2004 Bob Shillinglaw 10–6 2–3 T–3rd
2005 Bob Shillinglaw 11–6 4–1 T–1st NCAA Division I First Round
2006 Bob Shillinglaw 12–5 3–3 T–3rd
2007 Bob Shillinglaw 13–6 4–2 3rd NCAA Division I Final Four
2008 Bob Shillinglaw 9–7 3–3 T–3rd
2009 Bob Shillinglaw 5–10 2–4 T–5th
2010 Bob Shillinglaw 10–7 3–2 T–2nd NCAA Division I First Round
2011 Bob Shillinglaw 11–7 4–2 T–2nd NCAA Division I First Round
2012 Bob Shillinglaw 6–9 1–5 T–6th
2013 Bob Shillinglaw 5–10 1–5 T–6th
2014 Bob Shillinglaw 7–9 1–4 T–5th
2015 Bob Shillinglaw 5–10 1–4 6th
2016 Bob Shillinglaw 5–10 2–3 T–4th
2017 Bob Shillinglaw 7–8 0–5 6th
Bob Shillinglaw: 310–303 (.506) 124–79 (.611)
Ben DeLuca (Colonial Athletic Association) (2018–Present)
2018 Ben DeLuca 6–8 3–2 T–2nd
2019 Ben DeLuca 10–5 3–2 3rd
2020 Ben DeLuca 4–2 0–0 † †
2021 Ben DeLuca 10–3 7–1 1st
2022 Ben DeLuca 13–6 3–2 T–1st NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
2023 Ben DeLuca 13–5 6–1 1st NCAA Division I First Round
2024 Ben DeLuca 9–5 6–1 2nd
Ben DeLuca: 65–34 (.657) 28–9 (.757)
Total: 568–490–3 (.537)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Delaware Blue Hens Logo Usage". August 28, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2018.