#5 Men’s Lacrosse Opens NE10 Tournament Title Defense against Saint Anselm Saturday at Home

Date	Saturday, April 27, 2019 (2 p.m.)
Matchup	#5 Merrimack (12-2, 10-1 NE10) Saint Anselm (7-6, 6-5 NE10)
Location	Duane Stadium // North Andover, Mass.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video
Social	Twitter // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After concluding the regular season in a three-way tie atop the conference standings and earning a share of the regular season crown for only the second time in school history, the fifth-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse program will open up the second act of its 2019 season when it hosts sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College in the opening round of the 2019 Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday at Duane Stadium. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Ticket Prices
Adults: $6
Children/Seniors: $4
Students w/ valid NE10 ID: $1
Note: Ticket sales are cash only. Tickets are required for admission to beer garden.

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. 

Merrimack in the NE10 Championship

• Merrimack is making its 20^th appearance in the league tournament, second only to Le Moyne's 22 appearances (including this spring), and is 20-17 in the NE10 Championship.
• The Warriors have advanced to the semifinal round of the tournament 19 times – including 14 straight – which again is second only to Le Moyne's 21.
• Merrimack has also advanced to 12 NE10 Finals (behind Le Moyne's 17).
• Merrimack has won the NE10 Tournament three times (2000, 2010, 2018); only Le Moyne (13) has more league titles, while Bentley and Adelphi also have won it three times.
• Merrimack has finished as the tournament's runner-up a league-high nine times.
• Last spring, Merrimack became the first team not named Adelphi or Le Moyne to win the league tournament since Merrimack's previous championship in 2010.
• Since 2000, the only team not named Le Moyne, Merrimack or Adelphi to win the NE10 title was former conference member Bryant in 2008.

Five Things to Know:

• Merrimack concluded the regular season with 12 wins in 14 tries and ended the campaign on a high note after toppling Saint Michael's by a 12-3 tally on Tuesday afternoon on the road.
• Recording no fewer than 12 goals in all but one game this season, Merrimack owns the NE10's best scoring offense (and the country's fourth-best), averaging 16.64 goals per game. They also boast the nation's second-ranked man-up offense that converts at 50.0 percent. The Warriors have also taken care of the ball well, as indicated by their 14.64 turnovers per game (second-fewest in the country) and an 84.0-percent clearing percentage that ranks 29^th nationally.
• Junior Charlie Bertrand continues to back up his status as one of the nation's best overall players with 73 points on the strength of 58 goals and 15 assists in 11 games. He leads the country in points per game (6.64) and goals per game (5.27), while sophomore Sean Black leads the country in assists per game (3.77) and ranks fourth in scoring average (5.69); he is up to a team-high 74 points on the season (25g, 49a). Sophomore Christian Thomas rounds out the "big three" with 66 points (33g, 33a) and ranks in the top-20 nationally in assists and scoring averages.
• Merrimack has won 22 straight games at home, the longest active home winning streak in the country. The last time the Warriors lost a game at home was on March 18, 2017.
• Merrimack has commanded the all-time series with Saint Anselm with a 26-3 all-time mark that features a current 15-game winning streak (4/11/07 – 9-4 at home). The regular season matchup between the two schools was hotly contested in the first half (tied 9-9) before Merrimack pulled away en route to an 18-12 win. Saint Anselm finished the regular season 7-6 and earned a sixth-place finish in the league standings. Patrick Sweeney paces the Hawks' offense that averages over 14 goals per game with 58 points (38g, 20a); Nick Richard has started 11 games in net and has gone 6-4 with a .511 SV% and 11.31 GAA.

Inside the Matchup:

#5 Merrimack (12-2, 10-1 NE10)	Category	Saint Anselm (7-6, 6-5 NE10)
4/23 at St. Michael's (W, 12-3)	Recent Games	4/23 vs. Saint Rose (W, 19-11)
16.64	Scoring Offense	14.08
9.79	Scoring Defense	11.31
50.0%	Man-Up Offense	37.8%
70.6%	Man-Down Defense	66.7%
33.57	Ground Balls	31.46
14.64	Turnovers	17.62
8.71	Caused Turnovers	6.92
48.1%	Faceoff Pct.	44.2%
84.0%	Clearing Pct.	89.3%

 
Up Next
A win would send Merrimack to the semifinal round for the 15^th straight season where it would meet second-seeded Le Moyne on Wednesday, May 1, at Ted Grant Field in Syracuse.