NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 2 Merrimack College men's lacrosse team will close out the month of March at home against American International College on Saturday (March 31) afternoon. Game time from Merrimack Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
BEER GARDENS AVAILABLE FOR HOME GAMES
Merrimack is pleased to offer a 21+ Beer Garden on the stadium patio for all home men's lacrosse games (opposite the press box side, closest to the Merrimack Athletics Complex). The patio opens one hour before faceoff and closes at the end of the third quarter. Light snacks are also available for purchase.
Inside the Series:
- Merrimack has never lost to AIC and is 16-0 against the Yellow Jackets all-time.
- The smallest margin of victory against AIC over the past decade was a three-goal victory (10-7) at home on March 22, 2014.
- Last year, the Warriors posted a 28-1 road win over the Yellow Jackets.
Last Time Out:
- Merrimack rallied from down two goals early in the third quarter and ultimately denied host Bentley an upset bid, as the Warriors edged the Falcons, 11-7, on Wednesday night.
- A slow-developing first quarter saw only one goal scored, as the Warriors took a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes. Things opened up in the second, as Bentley outscored Merrimack by a 5-3 margin and took a one-goal lead into halftime.
- That momentum continued for Bentley to start the second half, as the Falcons took their largest lead of the game (6-4) just after the opening minute mark. But the Warriors would answer, mostly thanks to the heroics of sophomore Charlie Bertrand, who buried back-to-back man-up goals to tie the game before freshman Sean Black put the Warriors ahead with only three seconds left in the stanza, making it a 7-6 lead for the Navy and Gold heading to the fourth.
- The hosts refused to go quietly and kept the pressure on the Warriors with a goal just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, leveling the ledger once again at 7-7. But Merrimack would net the game-winner with 13:09 left and added three more insurance markers over the final 10 minutes of regulation, with Bertrand netting the latter two to finish with seven on the night, propelling the Warriors to the win.
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. They have been no lower than second all year.
- 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), LIU Post (12) and Le Moyne (2); they are yet to face Pace (5), Adelphi (6) and Saint Anselm (20).
'Mack Facts:
- Merrimack enters Saturday at 5-1 overall with a 2-1 mark in league play. The Warriors rank fourth in the NE10 in both scoring offense (12.50) and defense (8.17) and also boast the best man-up defense in the country (88.9%).
- Freshman Sean Black (31 points) leads all Warriors on the offensive front with 12 goals and 19 assists. He ranks second in the league in assists and third in overall scoring. His 3.17 assists per game figure ranks second nationally and scoring average (5.17) ranks seventh.
- Sophomore Charlie Bertrand, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with 20 goals in just five games, leading the country in goals per game (4.00).
- Senior Blake Boudreau has won 87-of-135 on the X (.644) as Merrimack's primary faceoff man, ranking seventh nationally and second in the NE10 in faceoff win percentage. He ranks sixth nationally and first in the NE10 averaging 8.33 ground balls per game.
- Senior James Bassett, reigning USILA Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Warriors with nine caused turnovers, while senior long midfielder Eric Coburn and junior Ryan Burke are close behind with seven. Coburn and Bassett also have 19 and 18 ground balls, respectively.
- In net, freshman Peter Brown has started the last four games and has been solid, posting a 6.08 goals against average (4th/NCAA) and .538 save percentage in that span.
- Merrimack has won the last 17 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 AIC:
- AIC enters the weekend at 1-9 overall with an 0-5 mark in league play.
- The Yellow Jackets average just over seven goals per game and allow nearly 15 per contest.
- Jack McIntyre and Rawill Herrera lead the AIC offense with 19 points each, with the latter leading the team with 17 goals.
- Will Lewis has won 40.0% of the faceoffs for AIC, while Jacob Ortiz is the primary goalkeeper and is 1-9 with a 14.86 GAA and .515 SV%.
Inside the Matchup:
| #1 Merrimack (5-1, 2-1 NE10) |
Category |
AIC (1-9, 0-5 NE10) |
3/24 at #2 Le Moyne (L, 8-5)
3/28 at Bentley (W, 11-7) |
Recent Games |
3/27 vs. Saint Rose (L, 13-4)
3/29 at Dominican (L, 14-13) |
| 12.50 |
Scoring Offense |
7.20 |
| 8.17 |
Scoring Defense |
14.80 |
| 42.9% |
Man-Up Offense |
31.4% |
| 88.9% |
Man-Down Defense |
77.3% |
| 75/248 (.302) |
Goals/Shot Attempts (Sh. Pct.) |
72-259 (.278) |
| 30.17 |
Ground Balls |
22.1 |
| 13.33 |
Turnovers |
18.70 |
| 7.17 |
Caused Turnovers |
6.60 |
| 64.6% |
Faceoff Pct. |
37.6% |
| 88.5% |
Clearing Pct. |
61.4% |
Up Next
Merrimack will stay at home to take on Saint Anselm College next Tuesday (April 3). Game time from Merrimack Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
