#7 Men's Lacrosse Aims For Share Of NE-10 Title On Senior Day Against Assumption
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#7 Merrimack will play host to the Assumption Greyhounds on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the Warriors Senior Day. Merrimack will be celebrating one of the best senior classes in program history. Merrimack enters the game with a chance to claim at least a share of the Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship with a win, their first-ever championship. The Greyhounds enter the game after falling on the road at Saint Rose, 10-5.
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 43 goals and 13 assists. Reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, Greg Melaugh is second on the team with 30 goals and eight 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 20 assists. Defensively, Jimmy Holland has racked up a team-high 19 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls while Brandon Waiter has scooped up 32 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers. In net, Connor Reagan has continued his stellar play as he has a 10-2 record with a goals against average of 6.93 and a save percentage of 62.6%.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Assumption enters the game with a 3-9 overall record and a 3-7 conference mark. Offensively, the Greyhounds are led by Garrett Smith who has racked up 27 goals and 29 points while Ian Mack ranks second on the team with 28 points. Will Contento leads their defensive attack with a team-best 45 ground balls on the season.
THE SERIES WITH ASSUMPTION:
Merrimack has won the last five games against the Greyhounds including a 20-5 victory on the road last year. The Warriors are averaging 13.4 goals per contest against Assumption in their last five meetings.
WARRIORS DOWN #9 ST. MIKE'S TO STAY ATOP NE-10:
#7 Merrimack picked up an impressive top-10 victory on Tuesday night as they handed #9 Saint Michael's their first conference loss of the season. Merrimack is tied for first in the NE-10 and with a win on Saturday they will earn at least a share of their first-ever NE-10 regular season Championship. The Warriors defeated the Purple Knights by the score of 10-8 as the Warriors improved to 7-0 on the season when allowing less than 10 goals. Corey Lunney led all players with four goals and a assist while Greg Melaugh finished with one goal and a team-high two assists in the victory. Faceoff specialist Patrick Coskren continued to win faceoff's for the Warriors as he finished the game going 14-for-21 and scooped up 11 ground balls on the afternoon.
LUNNEY CONTINUES TO SCORE; LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS:
Corey Lunney continued to find the back of the net on Tuesday night as he racked up a game-high four goals and one assist to lead Merrimack to victory. Lunney now sits along at the top of the NE-10 with 43 goals and 56 points 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 three 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 173 and points with 226.
FACEOFF'S KEY TO WARRIORS SUCCESS:
Patrick Coskren continued his domination in the faceoff circle on Tuesday night, leading to the Warriors 10-8 victory. Coskren finished off his night going 14-for-21 on faceoff's while scooping up 11 ground balls. Merrimack improves to 7-0 this season when they win more faceoff's than their opponents.
MERRIMACK DEFENSE CONTINUES TO STIFFLE COMPETITION:
The Merrimack defense has been a strength of the team so far this season as they are allowing 6.7 goals per game. On Tuesday night, the Warriors held the Purple Knights to eight goals as Merrimack improved to 8-0 on the season when holding their opponents to under 10 goals. The Warriors scoring defense ranks second in the nation as Connor Reagan has been the backbone of the defense.
MAN UP OFFENSE CONTINUES TO CLICK FOR WARRIORS:
The Merrimack man up offense has been a strength all season long as they are currently 29-for-68 on their opportunities which is good for 42.6 percent and third best in the country. Greg Melaugh leads all Warriors with 11 man up markers while Lunney ranks second with five.
SENIOR DAY FOR A TALENTED SENIOR CLASS:
Merrimack will celebrate the final regular season game for 11 senior's on Saturday as they play host to Assumption. Two of the most prolific goal scorers in school history, Corey Lunney and Greg Melaugh, will play in their final regular season game at Martone-Mejail Field. The other nine seniors are Bryan Pollack, DJ Brown, Mike Perdie, Patrick Coskren, Brad Duhaime, Paul Gallagher, Eric Peterson, Connor Reagan and Ryan Hunt.
MC SCORING MARGIN RANKS TOP 10 NATIONALLY:
The Merrimack offense has been a strength all season as the Warriors are defeating their opponents by an average of 6.4 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 73-21 during his career at Merrimack.
