HPU MLAX Travels North To Take On Marist

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team will travel north on Saturday to face-off with Marist at noon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The Panthers (3-3) are riding a two-game winning streak after consecutive triumphs over Northeast Conference opponents. The Red Foxes (2-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 14-10 setback to Stony Brook.

Last Time Out:
High Point trailed 9-7 midway through the third quarter before finishing on a 6-1 run to earn a 13-10 victory over Robert Morris on Feb. 28 in Vert Stadium. Junior Matt Thistle and redshirt-junior Brad James each posted four points to propel the Panthers to the win.

Junior Jamie Piluso controlled the game from the face-off ‘X.’ The Ridgewood, N.J. native went 10-of-12 (83 percent) on face-offs in the second half and 19-of-27 (70 percent) overall while grabbing a game-high 11 ground balls. Face-off wings junior Adam Seal and redshirt-junior Harris Levine had big days combining for four points and four ground balls.

James won Southern Conference Player of the Week by posting two goals and two assists. He stepped up when the Panthers needed him the most by posting two assists and a goal to make the 9-7 deficit into a 10-9 lead minutes into the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Michael LeClair tallied three points (2g, 1a) and freshman Connor Robinson added a goal and an assist. Redshirt-junior Spencer Wichert, sophomore Cole Carns and freshman T Moyer each posted scores for the Purple & White.

Redshirt-senior Austin Geisler played a great second half to hold the Colonials to just three goals after the half. The Fredericksburg, Va. native made 10 saves and grabbed three ground balls while junior Zack Price caused two turnovers.

The Opponent:
The Red Foxes opened their year 2-0 with road wins over Air Force and Binghamton before falling 14-10 to Stony Brook in their home opener last weekend. Marist held a 3-1 advantage after the first quarter, but was outscored 10-6 in the second and third quarters and couldn’t rebound.

Sophomore J.D. Recor led the attack against Stony Brook with four assists while junior Joseph Radin and senior Colin Joka each registered hat tricks. The Red Foxes won the possession battle by earning a +4 (26-22) margin in groundballs and 14-of-24 (58 percent) in the face-off circle but couldn’t capitalize.
Senior Michael Begley is the team’s leading scorer this season with 10 points (6g, 4a) through three contests. Recor and Joka have each posted nine points while Radin has eight.

Marist is solid at the face-off ‘X’ as junior Dominic Montemurro who is 39-of-64 (61 percent) this season. He also leads the Red Foxes with 15 ground balls this year.

Defensively, senior Dave Scarcello is stopping 12 shots per game, which is good for a .554 save percentage. Senior Patrick Eaker and freshman Brett Osman have each forced three turnovers to lead the team.

Marist was picked by the league’s coaches to finish second in the MAAC behind Sienna. Also, Eaker and Radin were both named to the preseason all-conference squad.

Panther Notes:

• The Panthers and the Red Foxes have never met in lacrosse.

• Junior Brad James earned Southern Conference Player of the Week with four points against Robert Morris. He is the second HPU player to win the honor this week. Sophomore Michael LeClair won on Feb. 10.

• Dan Lomas has the third longest goal-scoring streak in the nation with at least one goal in each of his last 22 games.

• Dan Lomas has the 11th longest point streak in the country and enters the season with at least one point in 31 games. Matt Thistle has posted at least one point in 21 consecutive outings.

• Junior Jamie Piluso dominated in the face-off circle against RMU winning 19-of-27 (70 percent). He is 94-of-161 (.584) on the year.

• Senior Pat Farrell had a record-setting day against Sacred Heart. The defenseman caused a program record eight turnovers and collected two ground balls. The eight CTs are the most in a game in the nation this year.

Next Up:
The Panthers will be back on the road next week when they open conference play at Mercer at 1 p.m. in Macon, Ga.