HPU MLAX set for Saturday showdown at Robert Morris

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team looks for its second straight victory on Saturday at 11 a.m. against Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa.

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The Panthers (1-3) are coming off one of the biggest wins in program history and are set on continuing the momentum this weekend. Likewise, the Colonials (1-2) picked up their first win of the season with a 19-6 victory over Manhattan on Saturday.

Last Time Out
High Point opened up a 10-5 lead over Virginia with three straight goals out of the halftime break on Tuesday night in Charlottesville, Va. However, the Cavaliers fought right back to even the score at 11-all with 24 seconds left to send the contest to overtime. After Alex Woodall won the face-off, Sean Harrison found Dan Lomas in front of the net for the game-winning goal.

Lomas tallied four goals as Matt Thistle (3g, 1a) and Michael LeClair (2g, 2a) gave the Purple & White three players with four points. From the midfield Keegan O’Connor scored two goals with Dallas Bridle rounding out the goal scoring with one tally.

Defensively, Tim Troutner provided a great performance in goal with 15 saves and three ground balls. Meanwhile, sophomore Terrell Sands chipped in with two caused turnover and four ground balls.

Accolades Piling Up for Lomas
Lomas – a two-time conference offensive player of the year – was named to the 50-player Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Tuesday night. That honor came a week after being one of the 20 student-athletes nominated for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.

Attacking Trio
• Lomas, Thistle and LeClair accounted for 12 of the Panthers’ 17 points in Tuesday’s victory over No. 10 Virginia.

• The trio has accounted for 55 percent of the team’s points (318-of-581) over the last two-plus seasons.

• All three of the HPU attackmen were among the SoCon’s top-five scorers last season. Through four games in 2016, Lomas paces the league (4.0/game) while LeClair sits at third (3.5/game) and Thistle is in sixth (2.8/game).

Freshman Making an Impact
• Troutner has taken over in goal for the last two games and is averaging 15.5 saves per game against Maryland and Virginia.

• Woodall is 35-72 (.486) in the face-off circle with 18 ground balls in the last three contests.

Scouting Robert Morris
• The Colonials were picked to place fifth in the NEC after finishing in a tie for fourth in 2015.

• RMU opened its season with a 20-7 setback at Penn State. The team followed with an 11-10 loss at Bellarmine despite closing the game on a 9-1 run. Like HPU, the squad is coming off its first win of the season after a 19-6 triumph over Manhattan on Saturday.

• Senior Luke Laszkiewicz, a 2015 All-NEC second team selection, paces the offense with 13 points (9g, 4a) on the year.

• Fellow senior James Rahe – another All-NEC second teamer in 2015 – has already dished out five assists to go along with three goals.

• Redshirt-senior Matt Bukovac (.375 save percentage) has started all three games, but freshman Alex Heger (.632) has played at least 20 minutes in all three contests.

• Redshirt-senior Chris Barney has played well at face-off winning 28 of his 46 attempts including and 18-22 outing in the win over the Jaspers.

• Balance on offense is key with 18 different players recording a point thus far this season.

All-Time Series against the Colonials
The Purple & White are 1-0 all-time against the Colonials.

Last Time They Met
Thistle and LeClair made up for Lomas’ absence combining for five goals and two assists to lead the Panthers to a 13-10 victory in Vert Stadium on Feb. 28, 2015. Adam Seal (1g, 1a) provided a lift from the midfield while Jamie Piluso won 19-27 face-offs.

Next Up
The Purple & White return home from a three-game road trip on Saturday, March 5 when they host Marist at noon in Vert Stadium.