#4 Men's Lacrosse Hosts Bentley On Youth Lacrosse Day On Tuesday
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE PARTICULARS:
#4 Merrimack stays at Martone-Mejail Field for their second straight conference home game on Tuesday as they play host to the Bentley Falcons at 7 p.m. The Warriors are winners of their last eight home contests and six straight overall after defeating Southern NH last time out. The Falcons won their last game by the score of 8-7 over Saint Rose in double overtime.
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 leads the NE-10 with 26 goals while Greg Melaugh ranks third with 21. Lunney leads the Warriors with 32 points while Melaugh has 25. Jamie Shand has been consistent so far this season as he is third on the team with 12 goals and 11 assists. Brandon Waiter is leading the Warriors with 19 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Patrick Coskren has scooped up a team-high 55 ground balls so far this season while winning 74-of-124 faceoffs. Connor Reagan has been solid all year for the Warriors as he ranks first in the country in save percentage (68.1) while also holding a GAA of 6.33 which ranks third in the country.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION:
Bentley enters with a overall record of 2-5 and a conference mark of 2-4. The Falcons are led offensively by freshman Matt Brigham who has nine goals and four assists on the season. Connor Price leads the falcons with 58 faceoff wins while also scooping up 19 ground balls.
THE SERIES WITH BENTLEY:
Merrimack holds a 4-1 record against the Falcons over their last five meetings. The Warriors defeated Bentley by the score of 12-11 last season at Gillette Stadium in the New England Lacrosse Classic. Greg Melaugh netted the game-winning goal with 15 seconds to play in the game.
MERRIMACK WINS THEIR SIXTH STRAIGHT:
#4 Merrimack continued to fire on all cylinders in their last game as they defeated the Southern New Hampshire Penmen by the score of 15-3. Corey Lunney led all players with a season-high six goals and one assist while Jamie Shand recorded a season-high three goals and three assists in the Warriors sixth straight win and eight straight victory at Martone-Mejail Field. Patrick Coskren continued his domination in the faceoff circle as he finished the game going 13-for-19 while also scooping up a game-high 12 ground balls. Defensively Jimmy Holland led all players with four caused turnovers and three ground balls while Connor Reagan played well in net with 12 saves and only two goals allowed.
LUNNEY LEADS NE-10 IN GOALS:
Lunney stayed hot on Saturday for the Warriors as he scored a game-high six goals in the win. Lunney now leads the Northeast-10 Conference with 26 goals through seven games. He currently ranks third in the country in goals per game (3.71) and eighth in points per game (4.57). Lunney is the highest ranked NE-10 player in goals and points per contest in the country.
SHAND RACKS UP SIX POINTS IN WIN OVER PENMEN:
Sophomore Jamie Shand has come into his own this season as he ranks third on the team with 23 points and first with 11 assists. On Saturday, Shand finished with a season-high six points as he scored three goals and three assists. Shand has recorded 11 points in his last two conference games which is tied for the team lead with Corey Lunney.
COSKREN LEADS THE NATION IN GROUND BALLS PER GAME:
Patrick Coskren continued to dominate in the faceoff circle on Saturday as he finished the game going 13-for-19 while scooping up 12 ground balls. For the season, Coskren leads the Warriors with 55 ground balls and he ranks first in the country averaging 7.86 ground balls per contest.
REAGAN LEADS THE NATION IN SAVE PERCENTAGE:
Senior Connor Reagan has been consistent all season long between the pipes for the Warriors as he owns a 6-1 overall record including six straight wins. Reagan currently leads the nation with a save percentage of 68.1 percent. His goals against average of 5.82 also ranks third in the country. In his last five games, Reagan owns a 5-0 record with a goals against of 3.11 and a save percentage of 80.3 percent.
MERRIMACK SCORING DEFENSE RANKS 3RD IN THE COUNTRY:
The Merrimack defense has been a strength of the team so far this season as they are allowing 5.57 goals against per game which is good for third in the country. Over the last five games, the Warriors are allowing 3.2 goals per game while the offense is scoring 14.2 goals. The Warriors stingy defense leads the NE-10 and has held their last five opponents to under five goals.
LUNNEY MOVES INTO SECOND IN CAREER POINTS:
Preseason Division II Player of the Year, Corey Lunney moved into second place on the Warriors all-time points list after his seven point performance on Saturday against Southern New Hampshire. Lunney now has 202 career points, trailing only Greg Rogowski for first place on the list (313). Lunney also ranks second in career goals with 156.
HOME WARRIORS:
Merrimack has won eight 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. On Saturday the Warriors defeated Southern NH 15-3 in front of the home fans. Over the past six seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 32-4 record. The Warriors have not lost more than two home games in any season since the 2007 campaign when they went 4-3.
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.
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.
