#4 Men's Lacrosse Looks To Extend Winning Streak; Hosts Pace On Saturday
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#4 Merrimack will play host to Pace on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field looking for their 10th straight victory on home turf. Merrimack is coming off of a 14-3 victory over Bentley on Tuesday night while the Setters head to North Andover after losing their last game at Saint Rose by the score of 10-9. Merrimack is looking to extend their current winning streak to eight games.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The Merrimack offense is led by the two highest scoring teammates in the country as Corey Lunney has 28 goals and seven assists while Greg Melaugh has 24 goals and five assists. Sophomore Jamie Shand has come on as of late as he now ranks third on the team with 16 goals and tied for first with 12 assists. Defensively, Brandon Waiter leads the Warriors with 12 caused turnovers to go along with 25 ground balls. Faceoff specialsit Patrick Coskren has been playing well recently as he has a team-high 61 ground balls and has won 84-of-134 faceoffs. In net, Connor Reagan has been solid all year as he has a 7-1 record with a goals against average of 5.81 and a save percentage of 69.1 percent.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Pace enters with a overall record of 5-5 and a conference mark of 2-5. The Setters are led offensively by junior Matt Gebhardt who ranks third in the NE-10 with 34 points on the season. William Scioscia also ranks fifth in the conference with 21 points for the Setters while Marty Schnellenback leads the team with 69 ground balls.THE SERIES WITH PACE:Merrimack has won the last five matchups with the Setters including a 16-9 victory last season on the road. Merrimack has averaged 14.4 goals per contest against the Setters over the last five games.
MERRIMACK WINS NINTH STRAIGHT AT HOME:
#4 Merrimack continued to find the back of the net on Tuesday as they defeated Bentley by the score of 14-3 at home. Eight Warriors recorded at least one goal and 11 Warriors recorded at least one assist in the victory. Jamie Shand led all players with four goals and a assist while Greg Melaugh scored three goals and one assist.
MELAUGH PASSES MORGAN ON ALL-TIME GOALS LIST:
Senior Greg Melaugh continued to score for the Warriors as he finished the win over Bentley with three goals. In the process, Melaugh passed current head coach Mike Morgan on the all-time scoring list with 105 goals. The goal that helped Melaugh pass Morgan was one of the prettiest goals of Melaugh's career as he fired the ball between his legs to beat the Bentley goalie. He now sits in fifth place on the all-time goals list.
LUNNEY LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS:
After scoring two more goals on Tuesday night, Corey Lunney now leads the Northeast-10 Conference with 28 goals through eight games. He currently ranks third in the country in goals per game (3.71) and eighth in points per game (4.57). Lunney is the highest ranked NE-10 player in goals and points per contest in the country.
SHAND STAYS HOT WITH FIVE POINTS AGAINST BENTLEY:
Sophomore Jamie Shand has come into his own this season as he ranks third on the team with 28 points and first with 12 assists. On Tuesday, Shand finished with a team-high five points as he scored four goals and one assist. Shand has recorded 16 points in his last three conference games which leads the team.
WARRIORS STINGY DEFENSE LEADS TO WINNING STREAK:
The Warriors current seven game winning streak has been propelled by their defense as they are only giving up 3.2 goals per game in the last six games. Leading the Warriors defense during the streak has been junior Jimmy Holland who has a team-high 11 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls. Sophomore Brandon Waiter has also been solid as he has racked up 15 ground balls and nine forced turnovers. Connor Reagan has also played well in net, making 61 saves over the last six games for the Warriors.
REAGAN LEADS THE NATION IN SAVE PERCENTAGE:
Senior Connor Reagan has been consistent all season long between the pipes for the Warriors as he owns a 7-1 overall record including seven straight wins. Reagan currently leads the nation with a save percentage of 69.1 percent. His goals against average of 5.81 also ranks third in the country. In his last six games, Reagan owns a 6-0 record with a goals against of 2.98 and a save percentage of 80.3 percent.
MERRIMACK SCORING DEFENSE RANKS 3RD IN THE COUNTRY:
The Merrimack defense has been a strength of the team so far this season as they are allowing 5.3 goals against per game which is good for third in the country. Over the last six games, the Warriors are allowing 3.2 goals per game while the offense is scoring 14.2 goals. The Warriors stingy defense leads the NE-10 and has held their last six opponents to under five goals.
LUNNEY MOVES INTO SECOND IN CAREER POINTS:
Preseason Division II Player of the Year, Corey Lunney moved into second place on the Warriors all-time points list on Saturday. Lunney now has 205 career points, trailing only Greg Rogowski for first place on the list (313). Lunney also ranks second in career goals with 158.
HOME WARRIORS:
Merrimack has won nine straight games at Martone-Mejail Field dating back to last year. The Warriors picked up the best home victory over that stretch on last Tuesday with the 5-3 win over then #1 Le Moyne. On Tuesday, the Warriors defeated Bentley 14-3 in front of the home fans. Over the past six seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 33-4 record. The Warriors have not lost more than two home games in any season since the 2007 campaign when they went 4-3.
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.
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.
