The Marist men's lacrosse team looks to secure themselves into one of the top seeds for the upcoming Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. Win a win on Saturday, the Red Foxes (6-4, 3-1 MAAC) could propel themselves into first place. The Red Foxes are also seeking to end a six-game losing streak at the hands of Siena, including a loss in the 2010 MAAC Semifinals. The last time they defeated the Saints was on April 19, 2006, an 8-7 victory in Loudonville.
LAST TIME OUT: In front of a raucous home on Open House Weekend in a game dedicated to the memory of Edward Coombs , the Marist men's lacrosse played an inspired contest and defeated MAAC opponent Manhattan on Saturday night by a score of 12-8. A six-goal unanswered streak in the second half led the Red Foxes to victory. Individually, juniors Jack Doherty (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) (4g-1a) and Connor Rice (Penfield, N.Y.) (3g-2a) tied for the team lead with five points apiece.
After an early Manhattan goal 13 seconds in, the Red Foxes responded with a three goal run to jump ahead 3-1 by the 6:23 mark of the first quarter. Freshman Drew Nesmith (Montclair, N.J.) began the scoring run with an unassisted marker at 9:56. Fellow freshman Brett Bernardo (Clifton Park, N.Y.) followed at 7:39 with a shot and goal from close in off of a Rice assist. Doherty netted the third goal of the streak as he ran into the shooting zone and whipped a shot in past Manhattan's goalkeeper Rich Akapnitis.
HISTORY VERSUS SIENA: The Marist men's lacrosse team kicked off the MAAC portion of their schedule with a home date with Siena last year. In a closely contested game, in which Marist twice held three goal leads, Siena's strong fourth quarter ended up spelling defeat for the Red Foxes. After 60 minutes of action, the Saints were victorious by a score of 12-10. Marist was led on offense by Jim Marks (Camillus, N.Y.), who notched his first collegiate hat trick. Connor Rice (Penfield, N.Y.) also played a pivotal role on offense as he picked up four points on two goals and two assists.
SCOUTING SIENA: Siena's offence is controlled primarily by two players. Brian Neufeld is currently leading the team with 29 goals. Defensively their unit is held down by Joe Ednie with 30 ground balls and their faceoff man is Casey Dowd with a win percentage of 48.4%.
Connor Rice In The Marist Record Books:
Currently sits #9 amongst the career assist leaders with 62.
8. Doug Closinski - '93-94 (64)
Currently #10 amongst the career points leaders with 137
8. Stuart MacMillan - '95-98 (139)
9. Bill Duerr - '03-06 (138)
Just outside the top-ten in career goals with 75.
T9. Christ Pistello - '95-98, Tim Iuculano - '03-06 (79)
Dynamic Duo:
The starting attack pairing of Connor Rice and Jack Doherty ranks #16 in the NCAA with 68 points between them.
Rice Streaking:
Connor Rice has registered at least one point in every game since he arrived at Marist, starting in each game the past 2+ seasons. Overall, he is tied the fifth longest active point streak in the nation at 40 games with 75 goals and 62 assists for 137 points in that span.
Rice is also 13th amongst active players in career assist with 62 helpers in his 2+ years in a Red Foxes' uniform
Nesmith a Top Freshman:
Rookie midfielder Drew Nesmith is tied for 19th in the nation in freshman scoring with 13 goals, 10 of which have come in the Red Foxes' past four games. Of the players ahead of him on the list, only five are midfielders. Freshman attack man Colin Joka is right behind Nesmith with 12 goals.
Plenty of Hat Tricks:
Junior attacks Connor Rice and Jack Doherty are amongst the national leaders in career hat tricks. Rice has registered a total of 12 three-goal games in his career, ranking him tied for 17th amongst active players. Doherty has a total of 10, six of which have come this season, placing him in a tie for 27th.
Score One, Score Five:
Six times this season a Marist players has registerd five points in one game.
Connor Rice - 3 times (2/26 at Sacred Heart) (3/3 at Stony Brook)
(4/14 vs. Manhattan)
Jack Doherty - 2 times (4/7 at #8 Duke) (4/14 vs. Manhattan)
Drew Nesmith - 1 time (3/31 at VMI)
Marist in the NCAA (Top 50 Ranked)
Points/Game:
25. Connor Rice - 3.5 PPG
31. Jack Doherty - 3.3 PPG
Goals/Game:
15. Jack Doherty - 2.6 GPG
Assists/Game:
10. Connor Rice - 2.0 APG
Ground Balls/Game:
31. Matt Dugan - 4.5 GBPG
Goals-Against Average:
19. Craig Goodermote - 9.19 GAA
Saves/Game:
34. Craig Goodermote - 9.3 SPG
Save Percentage:
30. Craig Goodermote - .522 SV%
Shot Percentage:
22. Connor Rice - .441 SH%
42. Colin Joka - .387 SH%
Face-Off Win Percentage:
41. Matt Dugan - .497 FO%
Marist in the NCAA (Top Team 30 Rankings)
Man-Up Offense:
3. - .513 Successful Opportunities
Man-Down Defense:
18. - .710 Successful Penalty Kills
Shot Percentage:
19. - .307 Shot Percentage
Win Percentage:
20. - .600 Win Percentage (6-4)
Ground Balls/Game:
24. - 29.8 Ground Balls per Game
Scoring Offense:
28. - 9.9 Goals per Game
HONORING EDDIE COOMBS: For the entirety of this season, the Red Foxes are honoring the memory of Eddie Coombs with jersey patches and sticker helmets. A third tribute to their lost teammate is that each game, someone on the team will wear his #34 jersey. The player, who will be chosen by the coaches prior to each game, must earn the honor in practice and in the previous game.
