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2023 Men's Lacrosse Goal Celebration

PREVIEW: No. 12 Men's Lacrosse heads to No. 8 Mercy in NCAA First Round

5/9/2023 11:30:00 AM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team heads to Mercy College for it NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship First Round game on Wednesday, May 10, slated for a 12 p.m. start from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

No. 12 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (9-4, 7-3 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2023 Statistics | News

No. 8 MERCY COLLEGE MAVERICKS (14-3, 6-0 ECC)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2023 Statistics | News

The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team returns to the NCAA Division II postseason on Wednesday, May 10, taking on the host Mavericks from Mercy College at 12 p.m.

Ranked 12th in NCAA Division II, according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's national poll, Saint Anselm (9-4) will enter the upcoming NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed, Mercy (14-3), for the first time since the 2017 season.

Saint Anselm has won at least nine games for the third consecutive season in 2023, compiling nine victories in 13 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.

Mercy has made the NCAA postseason for the fourth time with Sunday's announcement of the six-team regional field. The 2022 runner-ups fell to the University of Tampa in its first-ever appearance in the championship game, closing the year at 16-2.

Wednesday's winner between Mercy and Saint Anselm is ticketed to play at No. 2-seeded Mercyhurst (14-2) in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m. from Saxon Stadium in Erie, Pa.

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 nine games for the third consecutive season in 2023, compiling nine victories in 13 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 five occasions (1999, 2002, 2018, 2021, 2022). 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 receieve 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 15 caused turnovers in 12 games played this season. Slattery has also collected 26 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 (19-15=34), 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 40 career contests, Larsen has netted 55 goals and assisted on 44 others for 99 career points.
  • One of two short-stick defensive midfield selections on the First Team, Harvey has appeared in all 13 games, drawing a career-high 11 starts. The senior has netted a pair of goals and recorded an assist for three points and has collected 27 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 19 points, coming from nine goals and 10 assists. The junior is third on the squad in assists. In 39 career games, Larsen has scored 37 goals and assisted on 60 others for 97 points, needing just three to reach the 100-career points mark.
  • Senior Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.), an All-Conference Third Team selection, leads Saint Anselm in points (35) and in goals (31). The senior has added four helpers this season to reach his 35 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 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 20 goals and assisted on 12 others for 32 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 and made seven saves in that contest.
  • Senior Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) has won 106-of-187 faceoffs this season good for a 56.7 win-percentage. He has also claimed a team-high 66 ground balls and needs just six ground balls to match the program record for career ground balls. Gannon has won 54.5% of his faceoffs, posting 73 wins in 134 draws this season. He is second on the roster with 39 ground balls.
  • Senior Ethan Dolan (Littleton, Mass.), junior Henry Alford (Southborough, Mass.), junior Jonathan Holland (Derry, N.H.), and Slattery are tied for the Hawks lead with 15 caused turnovers each this season.
  • Under the leadership of eighth-year Head Coach Michael Sciamanna, the Hawks have posted a 69-36 (.657) 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 MERCY
  • Mercy has won 14 of its 17 games to date, sprinting out to an unblemished 6-0 record in the regular season of East Coast Conference play. The Mavericks won their fourth-consecutive ECC Championship on May 6, downing Frostburg State by a 15-9 score.
  • When playing at home, the Mavericks have racked up an 8-1 record this season. The defeat against, at the time, No. 2 Adelphi was the only loss that Mercy suffered when playing in Dobbs Ferry this season.
  • The Mavericks were projected to finish first in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll, totaling 49 points and collecting seven first-place votes.
  • Mercy features one of the top scoring offenses in all of Division II and one of the top defenses. The Mavericks offense is averaging 17.53 goals per game, which ranks fourth in the country while the defense is allowing just 9.12 goals per game, which ranks 12th. Mercy also ranks second in Division II in shot percentage, coming in at 38.8%.
  • The Mavericks placed 11 members of the men's lacrosse program on the ECC All-Conference roster including Brady Kearnan as the Player of the Year, Justin Gerdvil as the Defensive Player of the Year, Tommy Umano as the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Ryan MacSpayden as the Coach of the Year.
  • Kearnan, Gerdvil, Umano, Jack Gibbons, Jack Kipnes, Tyler Pjatak, and Jason Kuehner were named First Team All-ECC. TJ Heyder, Andrew Calabria, Damiano Ferrara, and Jake Fitzgerald were named Second Team All-ECC.
  • Kearnan was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season after being named ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Kearnan is named First Team All-ECC for the third straight season and was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week four times. Kearnan currently has a team-high 85 points on 49 goals and a team-high 36 assists with 28 ground balls. Kearnan currently ranks fifth nationally in assists per game (2.57), first in points per game (6.07) and eighth in goals per game (3.50).
  • Heyder is the Mavericks leader with 58 goals while ranking second in points at 68, adding 10 assists to his goal total this season. Heyder owns an 89.9 shots on goal percentage, putting 80 of 90 shot attempts on target.
  • Thomas Connors and Gibbons are tied for third on the roster with 59 points apiece. Connors has scored 32 goals, fourth most on the team, while adding 27 assists, second most on the squad, compared to Gibbons' 41 goals and 18 helpers which are third and fourth on the squad.
  • The defense has been led by Gerdvil who has caused a team-high 37 turnovers and collected a team-high 75 ground balls. Fitzgerald is second on the squad with 18 caused turnovers. Mercy ranks 27th in Division II with an average of 9.71 caused turnovers per game, totaling 165 through 17 games this season.
  • Kuehner owns a 66.1 win-percentage in faceoffs, collecting 183 wins in 277 draws. PJ Argiros, who was named the ECC Championship Game's Most Outstanding Player, has won 116-of-189 faceoffs, good for a 61.4 win-percentage.
  • Umano has started all 17 games in the cage for the Mavericks. He has a 9.58 goals-against average and a 56.4 save-percentage, totaling 172 saves this season. Umano ranks 15th in Division II in save percentage.
  • MacSpayden is in his first season as the Head Coach of the Mercy men's lacrosse program.
ALL-TIME vs. MERCY
  • The Hawks and Mavericks have battled five times in the all-time men's lacrosse series, last meeting on Mar. 8, 2017. Mercy collected an 11-10 win from Mercy Field in that contest.
  • Mercy has collected a win in each of the five matchups with four of them having a margin of victory of just one goal.
  • This will be the third consecutive meeting and fourth in the series coming from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
ALL-TIME, NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
  • Mercy is making its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason. The team owns a 3-2 record all-time in the NCAA tournament.
  • The Mavericks are coming off a runner-up finish in the 2022 tournament as they fell to the University of Tampa in the championship game. On its way to the title game, Mercy posted a pair of one-goal wins over Seton Hill on May 15, 2022 and then over Le Moyne, 12-11, in double overtime on May 22.
  • Saint Anselm had never made an appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason prior to the 2021 season. The Hawks own a 1-2 through its two previous appearances.
  • 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 2023 postseason tournament and dropped that game by a 16-8 score on May 11, 2022.
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