#7 Men's Lacrosse Looks To Get Back On Track At Saint Michael's On Tuesday
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#7 Merrimack will travel to take on #9 Saint Michael's on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in a crucial NE-10 Conference showdown. Merrimack is coming off of a slim 11-10 loss at the hands of #4 Adelphi on Saturday while the Purple Knights enter the game unbeaten in conference play after downing AIC 10-6 in their last contest.
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 39 goals and 12 assists. Reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, Greg Melaugh is second on the team with 29 goals and six assists while Jamie Shand has been playing at a high level and ranks third on the team with 20 goals and first on the team with 19 assists. Defensively, Jimmy Holland has racked up a team-high 18 caused turnovers and 24 ground balls while Brandon Waiter has scooped up 31 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers. In net, Connor Reagan has continued his stellar play as he has a 9-2 record with a goals against average of 6.82 and a save percentage of 63.7%.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Saint Michael's enters the contest with a overall record of 10-2 and a NE-10 best 9-0 conference mark. The Purple Knights are led offensively by Marty Vanzo who ranks second in the NE-10 with 30 goals and 50 points. Pete Donnally has racked up 33 points while defensively Luke Solms has caused a team-best 20 turnovers and has scooped up 34 ground balls. Chris Casserly has a team-best 44 ground balls.
THE SERIES WITH SAINT MICHAEL'S:
Merrimack has won four of the last five games against the Purple Knights including a one goal victory over them last season at Martone-Mejail Field.
#4 ADELPHI SNAPS WARRIORS NINE GAME WINNING STREAK:
#3 Merrimack was handed their first loss since the season opening defeat against #2 Limestone. The Warriors were defeated on the road by #4 Adelphi by the score of 11-10. Merrimack led the game 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter but the Panthers outscored the Warriors 4-1 in the final 15 minutes. Jamie Shand scored with 1:35 to play in the game to bring the Warriors within one but following a faceoff win, Merrimack could not get the tying goal. The Warriors had four players score two goals on Saturday including Corey Lunney who finished with two goals and two assists in the loss.
FOUR WARRIORS RECORD MULTI-GOAL GAMES AT ADELPHI:
The Panthers limited the Warriors offensive weapons from taking over the game on Saturday as they forced other players to score goals. For the game four Warriors recorded two goals. Corey Lunney led all Warriors with two goals and two assists while Jamie Shand stayed hot with two goals and a assist. Sophomore Kyle Guilbert scored two goals for his second straight game while freshman Ryan Poirier tied a career-high with two goals in the loss.
LUNNEY LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS AND POINTS:
Corey Lunney continued to pace the Merrimack offense on Saturday against Adelphi as he recorded a team-high four points, two goals and two assists. Lunney currently sits atop the NE-10 in goals with 39 and points with 51 for the Warriors through 11 games. He ranks second in the country in goals per game (3.55) and seventh in points per contest (4.64). Lunney is just seven goals shy of his career-high of 46 goals which he posted as a freshman. He also currently ranks second in the NCAA among active players in goals with 169 and points with 221.
FACEOFF'S KEY TO WARRIORS SUCCESS:
A major key to the Warriors success this season has been the faceoff circle and on Saturday this did not wortk out how the Warriors had hoped. The Warriors lost the faceoff battle on Saturday 25-9 which led to their one goal loss. Merrimack drops to 3-2 on the season when their opponent wins more faceoffs and they are a perfect 6-0 when they win the battle.
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 6.3 goals against per game which is good for second in the country. Connor Reagan is the backbone of the Warriors defense as he is allowing 6.48 goals against per game while Merrimack ranks 10th in the country in caused turnovers a game with 9.64 caused per outing.
MAN UP OFFENSE RANKS THIRD IN NATION:
The Merrimack man up offense has been consistent all season long as they have been averaging just over two man up goals per contest. The Warriors currently rank third in the nation as they are 43.1 percent on the season. Merrimack is 28-for-65 in their opportunities after finishing the last game going 2-for-4. Greg melaugh leads all Warriors with 11 man up goals on the season while Lunney has deposited five man up tallies to rank second on the team.
MC SCORING MARGIN RANKS 6TH NATIONALLY:
The Merrimack offense has been a strength all season as the Warriors are defeating their opponents by an average of 6.55 goals per game which ranks sixth best in the nation. Merrimack has recorded five wins of 10 plus goals this season including a 17 goal victory over AIC. The Warriors have lost two games this season by a combined four goals. The Warriors were handed losses by #2 Adelphi and #3 Limestone.
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 72-21 during his career at Merrimack.
