AMHERST — For some teams, the downpour forecasted for Friday might have caused some issues.
The conditions at Garber Field weren’t too slick for most of UMass’ regular-season finale against Delaware, but as the game reached its climax, the rain started to fall harder. Already delayed because of a storm earlier in the day, the tense conclusion of the game was played under yet another band of rain that made its way into the area.
Yet the Minutemen seemed to be emboldened by the weather, relishing a chance to secure at least one more game on its home field. Jeff Trainor broke the deadlock with just over two minutes left to play then Billy Philpott iced the game with an empty-net wraparound to lift UMass to an 11-9 win, securing the top overall seed and the right to host next week’s Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
“We practiced probably in worst weather all year,” Philpott said. “I think it rained every Tuesday in the fall, in the winter, even when it snowed, we were on the field, we never went inside. When we saw rain, guys actually got excited, it was almost more comfortable to us because we were used to it.”
UMass also proved it had gotten used to dealing with playing in tight games late after struggling with that at points earlier this year. The Minutemen (10-4, 4-1 CAA) and Blue Hens (10-4, 3-2) were knotted at 8 after the third quarter, but the UMass defense turned up its intensity yet again. Despite allowing Delaware to send through 14 attempts, the unit kept most of those shots either off frame and forced the Blue Hens into four turnovers in the period.
Senior defender Isaac Paparo said UMass would focus on the clock sometimes earlier this season instead of just playing its game. He said in the fourth quarter against Delaware, the Minutemen remained calm and poised while not worrying about how much time remained in regulation.
“(It’s) not making the moment too big, you can’t focus on the shot clock or the game clock at all,” Paparo said. “Just continue to play, continue to talk, lean on each other in moments like that.”
UMass had several chances to pull away in the game, largely due to the work by Tom Meyers in the faceoff circle and Sean Sconone in goal. The senior made several five-alarm saves from close range, including a pair from right in front of the cage in the first quarter as UMass scored the first three goals of the game. He continued that clutch play into the fourth quarter when he turned aside those six shots and made several tough saves in that stretch.
Meanwhile, Meyers helped keep UMass on the attack with his strong work on the faceoffs. He won 18 of his 23 draws, but more importantly kept his composure when Delaware conceded faceoffs and tried to force turnovers instead with long-pole defenders opposing him on the restarts.
“Tommy’s a warrior,” coach Greg Cannella said. “They threw some poles at him … and when those guys face off with the long stick, they’re giving him the faceoff then trying to harass him and get him to turn the ball over. Tommy really did a good job possessing so the ball close to him so that on his exits, the ball is there for him and it’s not out so they can get a ground ball.”
The extra possession paid dividends for the Minutemen as they applied a lot of pressure on the Blue Hens’ defense. In the first quarter, UMass was efficient at dissecting the Delaware defense and either scored or created excellent chances for itself. After surrendering a 5-2 lead, it scored three goals in 1:42 in the middle of the third quarter to restore the advantage as well.
However, the Minutemen also had 16 turnovers, including several on possessions that could have extended the lead and built upon the momentum that was clearly in their favor. Cannella said the turnovers were just part of UMass’ style of play and it wouldn’t have scored some of the goals it did – most notably Dan O’Brien’s long-range fire to cap that three-goal spurt in the third – if it played more conservatively to prevent turnovers.
“At times we have lapses in focus and concentration where we just drop the ball or throw the ball away,” Cannella said. “We’re a team that has had a lot of turnovers all year long because we ask a lot of our guys and we tell them ‘Don’t worry about turning the ball over, go for it. Play aggressive.’ … As long as our guys are aggressive, we don’t mind the turnovers.”
After taking the 8-5 lead with eight minutes left in the third, Delaware began to make its elongated comeback. It was exactly six minutes between the first and third goals for the Blue Hens, who were on the defensive for most of that time but stayed disciplined to disrupt UMass’ attack.
“We didn’t dodge hard to draw slides,” Philpott said. “We kind of dummy-dodged a lot to see if they’d slide and they stopped sliding, so it’s obviously hard to score when they don’t slide. We need to watch the film and dodge harder and be better in those spots.”