#4 Men's Lacrosse Looks To Stay Hot On Saturday; Hosts Southern New Hampshire At 7 PM
Full Game Notes (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#4 Merrimack returns to Martone-Mejail Field for a conference game with the Southern New Hampshire Penmen on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Warriors enter the contest winners of their last five games while the Penmen won their last game against Saint Anselm by the score of 11-7.
ABOUT MERRIMACK:
The highest scoring teammates in the country from last season continue to find the back of the net for the Warriors as Corey Lunney and Greg Melaugh lead the Conference with 20 goals apiece. Lunney leads the Warriors with 25 points while Melaugh has 23. Jamie Shand has been consistent so far this season as he is third on the team with nine goals and eight assists. Brandon Waiter is leading the Warriors with 18 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Patrick Coskren has has scooped up a team-high 43 ground balls so far this season while winning 59-of-103 faceoffs. Connor Reagan has been solid all year for the Warriors as he ranks second in the conference in save percentage (65.7) while also holding a GAA of 7.16.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Southern New Hampshire enters the contest with a overall record of 3-6 and a conference mark of 3-2 after defeating Saint Anselm in their last game. The Penmen are led offensively by Rob Murray who has 16 goals and seven assists while Cameron Joyce isnt far behind with 22 points. Phil Latorre leads the Penmen with 37 ground balls while winning 42-of-86 faceoffs on the season. Defensively, Ryan Woodford leads the way with 11 caused turnovers.
THE SERIES WITH SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Merrimack holds a 4-1 record against the Penmen over their last five meetings. The Warriors were downed by the Penmen last season on the road by the score of 7-6.
OFFENSE CONTINUES TO CLICK IN WIN OVER RAVENS:
#4 Merrimack continued to fire on all cylinders in their last game as they defeated the Franklin Pierce Ravens by the score of 17-4. Greg Melaugh stayed hot for the Warriors as he tallied a season-high six goals while Jamie Shand finished off his impressive afternoon with three goals and two assists. All-American, Corey Lunney continued to find the back of the net for the Warriors with three goals and one assist. Patrick Coskren had his third straight solid game in the faceoff circle for the Warriors as he won 14-of-17 faceoffs and scooped up a season-high 14 ground balls. Defensively the Warriors held the Ravens to only four goals, giving the Warriors four straight games holding their opponents under five goals. Connor Reagan continued to perform between the pipes for the Warriors as he allowed only four goals while making five saves in three periods of action and Morgan Green came in and made seven saves and allowed no goals in the fourth period.
MELAUGH STAYS HOT WITH SIX GOAL EFFORT:
Reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, Greg Melaugh stayed hot for the Warriors as he scored a season-high six goals in three periods of action. Melaugh scored three goals in the first half and then put the game away in the third with three more goals. He scored on six of his eight shots on goal.
COSKREN DOMINATES FACEOFF CIRCLE:
Patrick Coskren had a great day in the faceoff circle for the third straight game on Wednesday as he won 14-of-17 faceoffs and he scooped up a season-high 14 ground balls in the victory. In his last three games, Coskren has won 32-of-42 faceoffs which is good for 76 percent of the draws and has scooped up a team-high 25 ground balls.
MELAUGH AND LUNNEY LEAD CONFERENCE IN GOALS:
The dynamic duo of Corey Lunney and Greg Melaugh continued to give opponents fits as they combined for nine goals and a assist in their last game at Franklin Pierce. Melaugh and Lunney are tied for the conference lead with 20 goals so far this season while Lunney ranks fourth (25) in points and Melaugh ranks sixth (23).
MAN UP OFFENSE RANKS FOURTH IN THE COUNTRY:
After a poor showing in the season opener, the Merrimack man up offense has played well, scoring 14 goals in the last five games including going 2-for-5 in their last outing. For the season, Merrimack is 17-for-39 on their man up chances which is good for 43.6 percent and fourth place in the country. Greg Melaugh leads the Warriors with seven man up goals including two last game.
MERRIMACK SCORING DEFENSE RANKS 6th IN COUNTRY:
The Merrimack defense has been a strength of the team so far this season as they are allowing 6.0 goals against per game. Merrimack has allowed a average of 3.0 goals per game in their last three contests, all three were wins, against #1 Le Moyne, Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce. The stingy Merrimack defense ranks 6th in the country as they have allowed 36 goals against on the season.
LUNNEY RANKS THIRD IN CAREER POINTS AT MERRIMACK:
Corey Lunney continues to lead the Warriors with 25 points (20 goals and five assists) on the season. Lunney ranks third in the country in goals per game (3.4). Lunney now sits just three points shy of tying Edward DeBruyn for second place on the Warriors all-time points list. Lunney has 195 career points.
HOME WARRIORS:
Merrimack has won seven 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. Over the past six seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 31-4 record. The Warriors have not lost more than two home games in any season since the 2007 campaign when they went 4-3 on their 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 currently possesses a career coaching record of 68-20 which is a winning percentage of 77.3 percent.
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.
