#2 Men’s Lacrosse Honors Seniors in Regular Season Finale

Date	Saturday, April 28, 2018 (3:30 p.m.)
Matchup	#2 Merrimack (12-1, 9-1 NE10) Saint Michael's (4-9, 1-9 NE10)
Location	Merrimack Stadium // North Andover, Mass.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video
Social	@MerrimackMLAX // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 2 Merrimack College men's lacrosse team will conclude the regular season against Saint Michael's College on Saturday in Northeast-10 Conference action at Merrimack Stadium. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m., and before the game the program will honor its eight graduates from the Class of 2018 as part of Senior Day.

NE10 TOURNAMENT PICTURE
Top-six qualify for tournament; seeds 1-2 receive byes, seeds 3-6 play in first round 5/1; semifinals are 5/4; final is 5/6)

1. Le Moyne (10-0) H2H vs. MC, Clinched #1 seed
2. Merrimack (9-1) Clinched the #2 seed/bye to semifinals (H2H vs. Adelphi)
3. Adelphi (8-2)
4. Saint Anselm (7-3)
5. Saint Rose (6-4) H2H vs. ASM
T6. Assumption (5-5)
T6. Pace (5-5) H2H vs. STR

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 holds a 20-10 all-time record against Saint Michael's College and has won six straight games against the Purple Knights.
• The Warriors have scored 40 goals over their last two games against the Purple Knights, winning by identical 20-6 scores in each of the last two meetings.
• The closest game over the last 10 meetings was in 2012, when Merrimack held on for a one-goal win at home (10-9).
• The last loss against Saint Michael's was an 8-6 setback on the road on March 30, 2011.

Last Time Out:

• After watching its two-goal, fourth-quarter lead vanish in the span of about 40 seconds, the No. 2 Merrimack College men's lacrosse team answered right back with a game-winning goal from top scorer Sean Black with less than two minutes to play, and then the defense came through on the other end to close out a thrilling 10-9 victory against rival and sixth-ranked Adelphi University in an entertaining Northeast-10 Conference clash last Saturday at Merrimack Stadium. Click here for full recap.

Poll Watch:

• Merrimack enters the week ranked No. 2 in the USILA Coaches' Poll. It was No. 1 during a four-week span and has been no lower than second all year.
• As is usually the case, the Warriors have faced plenty of the nation's top programs this year, as seven other schools that are on Merrimack's schedule are also ranked in this week's poll.
• The Warriors have already played NYIT (ranked eighth when they played), LIU Post (12), Le Moyne (2) Pace (9) and Adelphi (6). Saint Anselm is ranked 20^th but was not ranked when the two schools played.

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack (12-1, 9-1 NE10) leads the NE10 in scoring offense (13.92) and ranks third in defense (7.54) and also boasts the seventh-best man-down defense in the country (81.6%) and 17^th-best man-up offense (37.5%). The Warriors have held 11 straight opponents to single-digit goals.
• Freshman Sean Black (64 points) leads all Warriors on the offensive front with 26 goals and 38 assists. He ranks first in the league in assists and in overall scoring. His 2.92 assists per game figure ranks third nationally and scoring average (4.92) ranks seventh.
• Sophomore Charlie Bertrand, meanwhile, is the league leader in goals scored (43), ranking fifth nationally in goals per game (3.58).
• Senior Blake Boudreau has won 192-of-286 on the X (.671) as Merrimack's primary faceoff man, ranking ninth nationally and second in the NE10 in faceoff win percentage. He ranks seventh nationally and first in the NE10 averaging 9.15 ground balls per game.
• Seniors James Bassett, reigning USILA Defensive Player of the Year, and Eric Coburn lead the Warriors defensively with 11 and 12 caused turnovers, respectively. Junior Ryan Burke also ahs 11 disruptions.
• In net, freshman Peter Brown has started 11 of the team's 13 games and has been solid, posting a 6.23 goals against average (2^nd/NE10) and .508 save percentage in that span.
• Merrimack has won the last 24 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 Saint Michael's:

• Saint Michael's owns a 4-9 overall mark (1-9 NE10) heading into Saturday, with one win in its last six games, although they only lost by two against No. 1 Le Moyne last weekend.
• The Purple Knights rank 11^th in the league in scoring offense (6.85) while allowing only 8.77 on the defensive end, the fifth-fewest in the league.
• Jon Lockwood (21 points, 16g, 5a) and Alec Sharlow (15g, 5a) are the only Purple Knights with over 20 points to lead the team offensively.
• Justin Richmond has won 74-of-160 faceoffs (46.5) and leads the team with 37 ground balls, while Bobby Frank's 18 caused turnovers are most on the team.
• Jake Sonberg has started all but one game in net, boasting a 10.29 GAA and .524 SV%.

Inside the Matchup:

#2 Merrimack (12-1, 9-1 NE10)	Category	Saint Michael's (4-9, 1-9 NE10)
4/19 at Assumption (W, 10-5) 4/21 vs. #6 Adelphi (W, 10-9)	Recent Games	4/17 at Saint Anselm (L, 10-4) 4/21 vs. Le Moyne (L, 10-8)
13.92	Scoring Offense	6.85
7.54	Scoring Defense	8.77
37.5%	Man-Up Offense	19.3%
81.6%	Man-Down Defense	83.9%
181-544 (.333)	Goals/Shot Attempts (Sh. Pct.)	89-462 (.193)
33.00	Ground Balls	30.92
12.15	Turnovers	15.77
7.15	Caused Turnovers	10.00
66.6%	Faceoff Pct.	46.9%
89.7%	Clearing Pct.	88.0%

 
Up Next
Merrimack will enjoy a full week off as it prepares for the 2018 NE10 Championship. The Warriors, who will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will have a bye straight to the semifinals, which they will host next Friday (May 4) at 4 p.m. at Merrimack Stadium against a to-be-determined opponent.