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Starters Huddle
Navraj Sandhu

PREVIEW: Men's Lacrosse to meet Mercyhurst in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/13/2023 9:00:00 AM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team is set to meet Mercyhurst University in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals on Sunday, May 14 from Saxon Stadium in Erie, Pa.

The opening faceoff in the contest is slated for a 1 p.m. start. Tickets for the Quarterfinal Round matchup can be purchased here.

No. 12 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (10-4, 7-3 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2023 Statistics | News

No. 7 MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY LAKERS (14-2, 6-1 GMAC)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2023 Statistics | News

The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team collected its second-ever win in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship to advance to the Quarterfinals and will meet the No. 2 seed in Mercyhurst University from Erie, Pa. on Sunday, May 14.

Ranked 12th in NCAA Division II, according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's national poll, Saint Anselm (10-4) entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 2 seed, Mercyhurst (14-2), for the first time in the all-time series, in Sunday's Quarterfinal Round game.

Saint Anselm has won at least 10 games for the third consecutive season in 2023, compiling 10 victories in 14 games to date. In 2022, the Hawks made their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship but fell to Le Moyne College in the First Round, concluding the season at 10-6.

The Hawks have ranked first in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's coaches' poll all season, with the exception of the most recent poll, released on May 8, which saw the Hawks fall to second.

Mercyhurst has made the NCAA postseason for the fourth-consecutive full season of competition with Sunday's announcement of the six-team regional field. The Lakers fell to Seton Hill University by an 8-7 score in the First Round of the 2022 tournament.

Sunday's winner between Mercyhurst and Saint Anselm is ticketed to play the winner of the No. 1 seed Le Moyne and No. 5 seed Adelphi in the NCAA Semifinals on Sunday, May 21 from the campus of the highest-remaining seed.

HAWKS NOTABLES
  • A wildly-popular club sport for many years at Saint Anselm, the Hawks debuted as a varsity program in 1994 and played their games on Cofran Field, the predecessor to modern-day Melucci Field, the home of Saint Anselm men's and women's soccer.
  • The program played on grass at home, including select games on the grass playing field at Grappone Stadium until the 2012 campaign, moving full-time to Grappone Stadium and its brand-new FieldTurf surface. The original turf surface was replaced in the summer of 2022 and features a brand-new design.
  • Saint Anselm has won at least 10 games for the third consecutive season in 2023, compiling 10 victories in 14 games to date. In 2022, the Hawks made their second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship but fell to Le Moyne College in the First Round, concluding the season at 10-6.
  • The Hawks have ranked first in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's coaches' poll all season, with the exception of the most recent poll, released on May 8, which saw the Hawks fall to second.
  • The Hawks have won 10 or more games on just six occasions (1999, 2002, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Saint Anselm first fielded a varsity men's lacrosse team in 1994.
  • The Hawks rank seventh in Division II in Scoring Defense, limiting opponents to an average of 8.46 goals per game in 2023. Saint Anselm has also successfully completed north of 92% of its clears, ranking third in the country and leading the NE10, as of May 10, 2023.
  • Opponents have been limited to just a 79.8% success rate on clears, ranking 16th in the nation and second when compared to the NE10, as of May 10, 2023.
  • Saint Anselm has totaled 252 points as a team this season, good for an average of 19.38 per game which ranks 37th in Division II and sixth in the conference. The Hawks are seventh in the NE10 in total points. The Hawks have collected 478 ground balls through 13 games this season which equates to 36.77 per game which is 11th in the country and is first when compared to the rest of the conference, all as of May 10, 2023.
  • The Hawks placed nine student-athletes on the NE10 All-Conference Teams, headlined by senior Ryan Slattery (North Andover, Mass.) who collected his second-consecutive NE10 Defensive Player of the Year. The senior was also named to the NE10 All-Conference First Team. In his collegiate career, Slattery is a two-time First Team All-Conference selection and is a Third Team recipient, coming in the 2021 season.
  • Slattery becomes the first Saint Anselm student-athlete to be a two-time NE10 Defensive Player of the Year. The senior is the second student-athlete in program history to receive the honor, joining Kevin DeBenedetto '10 (2010). Slattery began the season as a three-time Preseason All-America pick and is currently tied for the Hawks lead with 16 caused turnovers in 13 games played this season. Slattery has also collected 27 ground balls and has been credited with one point, coming from an assist in 2023.
  • Joining Slattery on the First Team was junior Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) and senior Will Harvey (Franklin, Mass.). Both are first-time All-Conference First Team selections.
  • Larsen ranks second on the team with 34 points (21-18=39), recording a point in all but one game this season. The junior is tied for 27th in the conference in points and is tied for 18th in assists. In the win over the Mavericks, Larsen joined the 100-point club as he has scored 57 goals and assisted on 47 others for 104 career points.
  • One of two short-stick defensive midfield selections on the First Team, Harvey has appeared in all 14 games, drawing a career-high 12 starts. The senior has netted a pair of goals and recorded an assist for three points and has collected 28 ground balls while causing seven turnovers for the Hawks. He was selected as the NE10 Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season for the first time in his collegiate career.
  • Junior Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) and senior Andrew Bonavita (East Longmeadow, Mass.) earned All-Conference Second Team honors in the annual release.
  • Nick Larsen ranks fifth on the Hawks roster with 21 points, coming from 10 goals and 11 assists. The junior is third on the squad in assists. In 40 career games, Larsen has scored 38 goals and assisted on 61 others for 99 points, needing just one point to reach the 100-career points mark.
  • Harvey and Nick Larsen were named All-American Honorable Mention by the USA Lacrosse Magazine on Tuesday.
  • Senior Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.), an All-Conference Third Team selection, leads Saint Anselm in points (42) and in goals (38). The senior has added four helpers this season to reach his 42 points. Andrews eclipsed both the 100-career points and goals marks in the 2023 season.
  • Freshmen Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass.), Quinn Gannon (Scituate, Mass.), and Colby Goodchild (Reading, Mass.) rounded out the Hawks selections on the All-Conference rosters as the trio was named to the All-Rookie Team.
  • Senior Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) and junior Chase Lilly (Trumbull, Conn.) are third and fourth on the team in points. Robinson has scored 21 goals and assisted on 13 others for 34 points in 2023 while Lilly has netted 16 goals and collected eight helpers for 24 points.
  • Senior David Olsen (Salem, N.H.) ranks third in the NE10 with an 8.85 goals-against average and has a 0.505 save percentage in 12 starts from the Hawks cage this season.
  • Junior Anthony Kubik (Chicago, Ill.) made his first start in a Hawks uniform against the Dolphins in the NE10 Semifinals and made seven saves in that contest. Kubik also made 12 saves from the cage for the Hawks in the win over Mercy.
  • Senior Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) has won 110-of-201 faceoffs this season good for a 54.7 win-percentage. He has also claimed a team-high 69 ground balls and needs just three ground balls to match the program record for career ground balls.
  • Gannon has won 54.1% of his faceoffs, posting 85 wins in 157 draws this season. He is second on the roster with 45 ground balls.
  • Under the leadership of eighth-year Head Coach Michael Sciamanna, the Hawks have posted a 70-36 (.660) overall record since finishing the 2015 campaign with a 2-11 overall record. Since taking over in 2016, Saint Anselm has since made seven consecutive NE10 postseason appearances (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) and, now, the first three-consecutive NCAA seasons in program history.
SCOUTING MERCYHURST
  • Mercyhurst has won 14 of its 16 games to date, sprinting out to a 6-1 record in the regular season of Great Midwest Athletic Conference play. The Lakers won their third GMAC Championship in the last four seasons as they downed Seton Hill by an 11-9 score on May 6.
  • When playing at Saxon Stadium, the Lakers have racked up an 8-1 record this season. The defeat against, at the time, No. 6 Indianapolis, was the only loss that Mercyhurst suffered when playing in Erie, Pa. this season.
  • The Lakers were projected to finish first in the GMAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • Mercyhurst features one of the top scoring offenses in all of Division II and one of the top defenses. The Lakers offense is averaging 16.62 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the country while the defense is allowing just 8.56 goals per game, which ranks second. Mercyhurst also ranks first in Division II in face-off winning percentage, coming in at 73.1%.
  • The Lakers placed 11 members of the men's lacrosse program on the GMAC All-Conference roster including Myles Hamm as the Player of the Year, Charlie Gleason as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Shawn Doran as the Specialist of the Year.
  • Hamm, Gleason, Doran, Ethan Landymore, Liam Bogedain, Stephen Morley, Braden McCard, and Nicholas Mabe were named First Team All-GMAC while Derek Kohut, Quinn Simonson, and Brett Olney were named Second Team All-GMAC.
  • Doran secured a spot on the USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American First Team with Hamm, Landymore, and Olney collecting All-American Honorable Mention plaudits.
  • Hamm leads the Mercyhurst offense with 63 points, coming from a team-high 49 goals and 14 assists, which are tied for third on the roster. Hamm is third in the GMAC in goals and in goals per game at 3.06.
  • Landymore follows closely with 62 points of offense. Landymore is second on the squad and fourth in the conference with 47 goals while ranking second on the Lakers with 15 assists.
  • Colin Tardif is third on the roster in points at 43 while ranking third in goals at 25 and leading the team with 18 helpers. Tardif is 10th in the GMAC in assists.
  • Mabe, Casey Scott, Simonson, Doran, and Chase Petschke have all netted double-digit goals this season for the Lakers.
  • Doran owns a 76.0% faceoff win percentage this season, collecting 254 wins in 334 faceoffs. Doran also leads Mercyhurst with 165 ground balls this season.
  • Matthew Welch and Charles Greenlese have registered 30 wins each from the faceoff "X".
  • Bogedain and Stephen Katz have been credited with 14 caused turnovers each, which is tied for the Mercyhurst lead in that metric.
  • Olney has started in 15 games from the cage for the Lakers. He has made 157 saves, good for a 58.6 save percentage and an 8.46 goals-against average. Olney leads the GMAC in both goals-against average and save percentage.
  • Chris Ryan has been at the helm of the Mercyhurst men's lacrosse program since 2001 and has guided the program to one National Championship and three appearances in the title game. Ryan owns a 266-68 (.796) record all-time as the head coach of the Lakers.
ALL-TIME vs. MERCYHURST
  • The Hawks and Lakers will be meeting for the first time in the all-time series.
ALL-TIME, NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
  • Mercyhurst is making its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason. The men's lacrosse program has made 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and was the 2011 National Champion. The men's lacrosse program has also made appearances in the title game in 2007 and in 2013.
  • The Lakers suffered an 8-7 loss to Seton Hill in the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, dropping to 11-5 on its season.
  • Saint Anselm had never made an appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason prior to the 2021 season. The Hawks own a 2-2 through its two previous appearances and the First Round game against Mercy.
  • The Hawks won their first-ever NCAA Division II postseason game over Seton Hill in their debut on May 14, 2021 before falling to Le Moyne on May 16, 2021. Saint Anselm battled Le Moyne in the 2022 postseason tournament and dropped that game by a 16-8 score on May 11, 2022
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