#7 Men's Lacrosse Heads To Lake Erie On Saturday Looking For Their First Victory
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#7 Merrimack will travel to Ohio to take on the undefeated Lake Erie Storm on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm. The Warriors are coming off of a 13-10 loss at the hands of the #3 Limestone Saints last Saturday in a neutral site battle in Baltimore, MD. Lake Erie enters the contest with a 3-0 record after a 23-0 win over Lees-McRae on Sunday.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The highest scoring teammates in the country from last season continued their scoring in the season opener as Greg melaugh scored four goals while Preseason Player of the Year Corey Lunney scored three goals and a assist. Fellow senior Mike Perdie finished off his game with a goal and a team-high two assists while Jamie Shand finished with a goal and a assist. Sophomore Brandon Waiter played well defensively as he scooped up six ground balls and forced a team-high three turnovers in the opening day loss to #3 Limestone. Senior captain Bryan Pollack finished with two caused turnovers and one ground ball, playing in his first game in two years for the Warriors after a season ending injury as a junior.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Lake Erie enters the contest with a 3-0 record as they have outscored their opponents 57-11 so far this season. They are led offensively by Trevor Tarte who has recorded a team-high 17 goals and 20 points so far while Keegan Bal has totaled 17 total points. Tom Lipomi has been solid in net for the Storm only allowing 3.89 goals against per contest.
THE SERIES WITH LAKE ERIE:
Merrimack and Lake Erie have never played one another. Lake Erie plays in the newly formed ECAC.
SEASON OPENING LOSS TO #3 LIMESTONE:
Merrimack opened up their 2013 season with a top-five matchup with #3 Limestone in Baltimore, MD and they were upended by the score of 13-10. The Saints used a 5-0 run early on in the fourth period to take over the game and eventually defeat the Warriors. Leading the way offensively for the Warriors were seniors Greg Melaugh and Corey Lunney who scored four goals and three goals and one assist respectively. Connor Reagan played in net for the Warriors, getting his first start in two seasons, and played well as he finished with 14 saves in the losing effort. Defensively the Warriors were led by sophomore Brandon Waiter who finished with a team-high six ground balls and three forced turnovers.
FACEOFF DIFFERENTIAL KEY IN LOSS:
One of the key factors in the loss for the Warriors on Saturday was the faceoff circle. The Saints totally dominated the Warriors in the circle, winning 27-of-32 faceoffs including six straight wins in the fourth period during their 5-0 run which sealed the game. Patrick Coskren led the way for the Warriors with five faceoff wins while losing 25 to the Limestone faceoff specialist. Winning the faceoff battle was vital to the Warriors success last season as they held a 8-1 record when winning more faceoffs than their opponents.
MELAUGH AND LUNNEY LEAD THE WAY OFFENSIVELY:
The highest scoring duo of teammates in the country from last season, Greg Melaugh and Corey Lunney, were back at it in the Warriors season opener. Greg Melaugh finished with a team-high four goals while Lunney finished with three goals and one assist. The two combined for all four Warrior goals in the second period as they helped the Warriors even the score at five at halftime.
FIVE GOAL FOURTH QUARTER BURIES WARRIORS:
Entering the fourth period the Warriors and Saints were tied 8-8 on Saturday but the Warriors allowed Limestone to score five goals in just over three minutes to put the game out of reach. After the Warriors took the 9-8 lead early in the fourth, Limestone responded with five goals before Greg Melaugh scored the final goal of the game at the 2:24 mark, making the score 13-10 in favor of the Saints.
MAN UP OFFENSE STRUGGLES AGAINST SAINTS:
The Warriors man up offense was strong last season during their 13 win campaign but in the season opening loss to Limestone, they struggled. The Warriors finished the game going 2-for-8 on their chances while the Saint finished 1-for-2 on their opportunities. Greg Melaugh scored both man up goals for Merrimack.
HOME WARRIORS:
The Warriors went a perfect 6-0 at home last season, while averaging 12.5 goals per contest, including a win in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament against #5 Adelphi by the score of 13-12. Over the past five seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 30-4 record. The Warriors have not lost more than two home games in any season since the 2007 campaign when they went 4-3 on their home turf.
MORGAN FIRST COACH TO 50 WINS IN DIVISION II HISTORY:
Mike Morgan's first four seasons on the Warriors sidelines were as successful as any Division II men's lacrosse coach ever. On May 6, 2011 when the Warriors defeated Le Moyne, Morgan became the first coach to ever win 50 games in four seasons. Morgan is one of only six coaches to win 50 games in five seasons. Morgan currently possesses a career coaching record of 63-20 which is a winning percentage of 76.8 percent.
MEET THE ASSISTANT COACHES:
Merrimack head coach Mike Morgan is assisted by Merrimack alum Bryan Brazill for the third season. Brazill will oversee the high-powered Merrimack offensive attack, man-up offense and help in the recruiting process. Brzill ranks in the top-10 in career points with 122 points. Morgan will also have the services of first year assistant coach kevin Bibeau who comes to Merrimack after spending the past four seasons as head coach at Boston College High School. Bibeau has 20 years of coaching experience and will oversee the Warriors defense. Bibeau will also assist in the day-to-day activities of the program along with recruiting.
MERRIMACK TO WEBCAST ALL HOME GAMES:
All five Merrimack lacrosse home games will be streamed live online for the upcoming 2013 season. This is the first time the Warriors home games will be streamed. Each game can be purchased online for $8 per game. The webcast will also include play-by-play and color analysis of the games. For more information about the live webcasts of the home contests check the Merrimack Athletics website at www.merrimackathletics.com.
