#3 Men's Lacrosse Ready For Conference Showdown At #4 Adelphi On Saturday
FUL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#3 Merrimack will travel to take on #4 Adelphi on Saturday in Garden City, NY in a top five showdown of Northeast-10 conference elites. Merrimack is searching for their third straight win over the Panthers dating back to last season when the Warriors defeated Adelphi in the conference semifinals and in the regular season. Merrimack enters following a victory over Saint Anselm while the Panthers are coming off of a 22-4 victory over AIC.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The Warriors are led offensively by Division II Preseason Player of the Year, Corey Lunney who has racked up a NE-10 best 37 goals and 10 assists. Reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, Greg Melaugh is second on the team with 28 goals and six assists while Jamie Shand has been playing at a high level and ranks third on the team with 18 goals and first on the team with 18 assists. Defensively, Jimmy Holland has racked up a team-high 17 caused turnovers and 24 ground balls while Brandon Waiter has scooped up 29 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers. In net, Connor Reagan has continued his stellar play as he has a 9-1 record with a goals against average of 6.33 and a save percentage of 64.7%.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Adelphi enters with a overall record of 10-1 on the season. Offensively they are led by Salvatore Tuttle who has recorded 16 goals and 16 assists while Ikerson Hooper leads the Panthers with 19 goals including three man up goals. Defensively, Jeff Melsopp leads the team with 21 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls.
THE SERIES WITH ADELPHI:
Merrimack has won three of the past five games against the Panthers including two victories over Adelphi last season. The Warriors defeated the Panthers 13-12 at home in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals last season.
MERRIMACK PULLS OUT NINTH STRAIGHT VICTORY:
#3 Merrimack extended their current win streak to nine games on Wednesday as they held on to defeat the Saint Anselm Hawks by the score of 12-10. Corey Lunney led all players with five goals, his third game this season with 5+ goals. Jamie Shand continued his high level of play as he recorded a season-high four assists in the victory while Kyle Guilbert and Paul Jones each scored two goals and one assist. The Warriors defense forced 28 Saint Anselm turnovers, a season-high.
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 nine 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 NETS FIVE GOALS; LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS:
Corey Lunney continued to lead the Warriors offense on Wednesday night as he recorded a team-best five goals in the victory over Saint Anselm. With his performance, the senior now leads the NE-10 with 37 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.
MERRIMACK BENCH CONTINUES STRONG PLAY:
The depth of the Warriors has proven to be a major strength this season as 12 players have recorded at least one goal on the season. On Wednesday, the bench continued their solid play as Paul Jones recorded three points, two goals and one assist while Paul Gallagher racked up two goals on two shots on goal.
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 eight games, the Warriors are allowing 4.4 goals per game while the offense has stayed hot, scoring 13.8 goals per contest over the span. The Warriors stingy defense leads the NE-10 and has held seven of their last eight opponents to six or less goals.
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.
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 26-61 after going 4-for-6 last time out and Greg Melaugh leads the way with 11 man up tallys while Corey Lunney has four man up markers. 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 72-20 during his career at Merrimack.
