#1 Men’s Lacrosse Set to Face #2 Le Moyne in Clash of Titans Saturday in Syracuse

Date	Saturday, March 24, 2018 (1 p.m.) Note time change!
Matchup	#1 Merrimack (4-0, 1-0 NE10) #2 Le Moyne (5-0, 1-0 NE10)
Location	Ted Grant Field Syracuse, N.Y.
Multimedia	Home: Live Stats // Video
Social	@MerrimackMLAX // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The top-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team will put its unbeaten record on the line when it collides with second-ranked and rival Le Moyne College on Saturday (March 24) afternoon at Ted Grant Field. The two teams are meeting for the first time since the Warriors stunned the Dolphins in last year's NCAA Championship Quarterfinal.

Inside the Series:

• Merrimack ended a seven-game losing streak against Le Moyne on the biggest stage possible last season, topping the Dolphins, 10-5, in the NCAA Tournament.
• Before last May, Merrimack's last win was a May 2, 2014 victory by an 11-10 score in the NE10 Championship Semifinals.
• The Dolphins took the regular season matchup in double-overtime, 12-11, in North Andover back in March, and then again survived in double overtime, 10-9, in the NE10 Semifinal before the NCAA Tournament victory for the Warriors.
• Merrimack is 10-27 all-time against the Dolphins in a series that started back in 1997, including 6-17 in Syracuse compared to 3-10 in North Andover.

Last Time Out:

• Top-ranked Merrimack opened its Northeast-10 Conference schedule off with a wire-to-wire victory over the Saint Rose, 12-5, last Saturday.
• The Warriors would take a 2-0 lead after the opening frame before Saint Rose got on the board at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter, but that was all the visitors would get in the entire first half. The Warriors would answer with the final two tallies of the second quarter to make it a 4-1 lead at the midpoint of the contest.
• Merrimack had a carry-over man-up opportunity to start the third quarter and promptly capitalized and built the lead to five shortly after that. Saint Rose would get the next goal, but that prompted a run of four straight goals from the Warriors to close out the quarter.
• Leading by eight, the Warriors went up by as much as nine goals with just under 10 minutes to play before the Golden Knights got two final tallies to wrap up the final margin of victory.

Poll Watch:

• Merrimack, which earned its first-ever No. 1 national ranking in the USILA/Nike 2017 Division II Coaches' Poll last April, started the 2018 season in the No. 2 spot before rising to No. 1 in the first weekly poll of the nation's top-20 programs, and the Warriors have stayed there since.
• As is usually the case, the Warriors will face plenty of the nation's top programs this year, as six other schools that are on Merrimack's schedule are also ranked in this week's poll.
• The Warriors have already NYIT (ranked eighth when they played) and LIU Post (12); they are yet to face Le Moyne (2), Pace (7), Adelphi (8) and Saint Anselm (20).

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack is off to a 4-0 start on the year thanks to a torrid offense that averages 14.75 goals per game (10^th/NCAA).
• Freshman Sean Black (27 points) leads all Warriors on the offensive front with 11 goals and 16 assists. He leads the NE10 in total scoring and ranks second in assists.
• Sophomore Charlie Bertrand, meanwhile, ranks tied for fourth in the conference with 12 goals despite missing Merrimack's last game. He is also tied with senior Jack Trask for second in overall scoring with 16 points.
• Senior Blake Boudreau has won 63-of-96 on the X (.656) as Merrimack's primary faceoff man, ranking eighth nationally and second in the NE10 in faceoff win percentage. He also ranks second nationally averaging 8.50 ground balls per game.
• Senior James Bassett, reigning USILA Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Warriors with eight caused turnovers, while senior long midfielder Eric Coburn is close behind with six.
• In net, freshman Peter Brown has started the last two games and has been solid, posting a 4.62 goals against average (3^rd/NE10) and .571 save percentage in that span.
• Merrimack has won the last 16 games it has scored 10 or more goals in; its last loss when posting a double-digit scoring total was in double overtime against Le Moyne (12-11) on March 18, 2017.

Scouting Le Moyne:

• Le Moyne (5-0) is one of four undefeated teams in the country along with Merrimack (4-0), Franklin Pierce (4-0) and Assumption (3-0).
• The Dolphins rank sixth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 15.60 goals per game, but more impressive is their scoring defense, which yields just five goals per game and ranks second nationally.
• Justin Kesselring is the driving force on offense for Le Moyne with 26 points (2^nd/NE10) on 16 goals and 10 helpers. He is one of six players in double-digit scoring figures.
• Both Joe Cerio (33-of-59) and Kendall Vecchio (23-of-37) have shared the faceoff duties for Le Moyne, while senior Justin Hussey's eight caused turnovers and 15 ground balls lead the Dolphins.
• Goalkeeper Jack Sweeney is among the nation's elite goalkeeper with a 4.56 goals against average and .710 save percentage, both ranked second in the NE10.

Inside the Matchup:

#1 Merrimack (4-0, 1-0 NE10)	Category	#2 Le Moyne (5-0, 1-0 NE10)
3/10 vs. #12 LIU Post (W, 15-4) 3/17 vs. Saint Rose (W, 12-5)	Recent Games	3/11 vs. Fla. Southern (W, 11-6) 3/17 at Bentley (W, 18-7)
14.75 (10th/NCAA)	Scoring Offense	15.60 (6th/NCAA)
8.50	Scoring Defense	5.00 (2nd)
42.1%	Man-Up Offense	30.0%
85.7% (5th)	Man-Down Defense	64.3%
59/179 (.330)	Goals/Shot Attempts (Sh. Pct.)	78-245 (.318)
31.25	Ground Balls/Game	32.40
13.00	Turnovers/Game	13.00
8.00	Caused Turnovers/Game	8.40
65.7% (8th)	Faceoff Pct.	56.2%
89.9%  (9th)	Clearing Pct.	86.7%

 
Up Next
Merrimack continues NE10 play with its first midweek matchup of the season, as the Warriors travel to Bentley on Wednesday (March 28) for a 7 p.m. showdown.