#3 Men's Lacrosse Aims To Stay Perfect In NE-10 Action On Wednesday At Saint Anselm
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#3 Merrimack earned their highest ranking in program history this week and they will travel to take on Saint Anselm on Wednesday night looking to extend their winning streak to nine straight games. The Warriors defeated Pace in their last game by the score of 13-6 while the Hawks defeated AIC in their last game by the score of 19-10 at home.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The Merrimack offense is led by the two highest scoring teammates in the country as Corey Lunney has 32 goals and 10 assists while Greg Melaugh has 27 goals and five assists. Sophomore Jamie Shand has come on as of late as he now ranks third on the team with 18 goals and first with 14 assists. Defensively, Jimmy Holland leads the Warriors with 17 caused turnovers to go along with 22 ground balls. Faceoff specialsit Patrick Coskren has been playing well recently as he has a team-high 76 ground balls and has won 102-of-164 faceoffs. In net, Connor Reagan has been solid all year as he has a 8-1 record with a goals against average of 5.84 and a save percentage of 68.1 percent.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Saint Anselm enters with a overall record of 3-7 and a conference mark of 3-5. The Hawks are led offensively by Ryan Mee who has racked up 16 goals and seven assists so far this season while Andrew Messner ranks second on the team with 13 goals and eight assists. Defensively, Jake Stokes leads the Hawks with 24 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers while Jake Mallinson ranks third with 20 ground balls.
THE SERIES WITH SAINT ANSELM:
Merrimack has won the last five matchups with the Hawks including a overtime thriller last season, downing Saint Anselm by the score of 11-10. Merrimack has averaged 13.4 goals a game against the Hawks in their last five matchups while allowing only 6.8.
MERRIMACK KEEPS ROLLING WITH EIGHTH STRAIGHT WIN:
#3 Merrimack extended their current win streak to eight games on Saturday and their home winning streak to 10 as they defeated Pace 13-6. Corey Lunney recorded his third seven point performance of the season as he finished with four first half goals and three assists while Jamie Shand and Kyle Guilbert each recorded two goals and two assists. Greg Melaugh stayed hot, scoring three goals in 25 seconds during the second quarter. The three goals in 25 seconds is the quickest that three goals have been scored by one player in program history.
MERRIMACK EARNS HIGHEST RANKING IN PROGRAM HISTORY:
The Warriors earned their highest USILA ranking in program history this week as they were tabbed in the no. 3 slot. Merrimack has received the #3 ranking on two other occassions including last season before losing to #2 Le Moyne. Merrimack has won eight straight games after a season opening loss to #2 Limestone. The Warriors rank second in the NE-10 in goals per game (13.2) and man up goals (22) while defensively they rank first in goals against (48), save percentage (69.4) and turnovers committed (128).
LUNNEY DOMINATES SETTERS; LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS:
Corey Lunney continued to score of Saturday as he recorded four first half goals and three assists. With his performance, the senior now leads the NE-10 with 32 goals on the season. He currently ranks third in the country in goals per game (3.56) and seventh in points per game (4.67). Lunney is the highest ranked NE-10 player in goals and points per contest in the country.
COSKREN GRABS 15 GROUND BALLS; MOVES INTO 5TH ALL-TIME:
Patrick Coskren continued to dominate in the faceoff circle on Saturday as he won 18-of-21 faceoff's and scooped up a season-high 15 ground balls. Coskren moved up into fifth place on the all-time list for ground balls as he has scooped up 143 in his career. He now sits just 14 ground balls behind Corey Spinale for fourth on the list.
TOWLER AND REAGAN EARN NE-10 WEEKLY AWARDS:
Tim Towler was named NE-10 Rookie of the Week after compiling one goal and five assists this week including a career-best one goal and three assists against Pace. Senior Connor Reagan was also named Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time as he improved to 8-1 on the season with a goals against average of 5.84 and a save percentage of 68.1 percent. Reagan ranks first in the country in save percentage and second in the country in goals against average.
MERRIMACK SCORING DEFENSE RANKS 2ND 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 second in the country. Over the last seven games, the Warriors are allowing 3.6 goals per game while the offense has stayed hot, scoring 14.0 goals per contest over the span. The Warriors stingy defense leads the NE-10 and has held their last seven opponents to six or less goals.
MC MAN UP AND SCORING MARGIN RANK TOP 5 NATIONALLY:
A strength of the Merrimack offense all year long has been their man up offense as they rank fourth in the country as they are successful on 40 percent of their opportunities. The Warriors are 22-55 on the season and Greg Melaugh leads the way with 10 man up tallys while Corey Lunney and Jamie Shand are tied for second with three apiece. The Warriors also rank fifth in the country in scoring margin as they are outscoring their opponents by an average of 7.89 goals per contest. The Warriors biggest victory of the season came March, 23 as Merrimack defeated the Yellow Jackets by the score of 19-2 on the road.
HOME WARRIORS:
Merrimack has won ten straight games at Martone-Mejail Field dating back to last year. The Warriors picked up the best home victory over that stretch earlier this season with the 5-3 win over then #1 Le Moyne. On Saturday, the Warriors defeated Pace 13-6 in front of the home fans. Over the past six seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 34-4 record. In the four losses the Warriors have lost by a combined five goals. The Warriors have not lost more than two home games in any season under current head coach Mike Morgan as the last season they lost more than two was 2007 as they went 4-3 on 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 has compiled a career record of 71-20 during his career at Merrimack.
