HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team heads north for a Southern Conference tussle with Richmond on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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The last time the Panthers (4-4) visited The River City they came away with a SoCon tournament title. However, the Spiders (6-2) enter Sunday’s contest as one of the hottest teams in the league despite a recent loss to North Carolina.
Last Time Out
• A fast start allowed the Falcons to jump out to a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The team used the momentum to pile up a 6-0 advantage at halftime. The Panthers opened the third quarter on a 4-2 run, but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 13-4 setback at Air Force on Saturday.
• Junior Michael LeClair registered three points on the afternoon tallying two goals and an assist to extend his scoring streak to 34 games.
• Senior Dan Lomas chipped in with a goal and an assist on attack. The Burlington, Ontario native also added four ground balls and two caused turnovers in the contest.
• Sophomore Terrell Sands continued to be a nuisance to opposing offenses caused two turnovers and grabbing four ground balls.
• Senior Matt Thistle recorded an assist while junior Dallas Bridle scored a goal to round out the scoring for the Panthers.
• Freshman Alex Woodall came off the bench to go 9-16 in the face-off circle.
LeClair’s Streak
• As a freshman, LeClair posted a point in three of his first seven games, but has scored in every one since then (34 straight).
• The streak is the longest in HPU history passing Lomas’ streak (32).
• The 34-game streak is the sixth-longest active streak nationally.
Battle on the Ground
HPU is 14th in the nation racking up 31.63 ground balls per contest. The squad has earned an edge in ground balls in five of eight games.
Active National Leaders
• Senior Dan Lomas is second among active players nationally with 143 career goals. The Burlington, Ontario native also ranks 14th in the nation in career points (162).
• Just ahead of Lomas in career points is senior Matt Thistle with 174 – good for seventh nationally. He’s third in assists (93).
• Senior Jamie Piluso leads all active players in face-offs won (562) and third in ground balls (287).
A Look at Richmond
• The Spiders opened the season 6-1, but couldn’t earn their second win over an ACC foe falling 15-6 to North Carolina on Saturday.
• With it’s 2-0 start in 2016, Richmond enters Sunday’s contest with seven straight regular conference victories.
• The squad led the league with five preseason All-SoCon selections including goalie Benny Pugh, defender Brendan Hynes, midfielders Alex Hatem and Mitch Goldberg and attackman J.P. Forester.
All-Time Series with the Spiders
High Point is 2-2 all-time against the Spiders. The two teams have split their matchups the last two seasons with one team winning regular season meeting and the other getting revenge in the conference tournament title game.
Last Time They Met
• The Panthers avenged a 20-9 home loss with a come-from-behind 9-8 victory in overtime in the SoCon Championship in Richmond, Va. The win sent HPU to its first NCAA tournament appearance.
• The Purple & White trailed 8-5 midway through the fourth quarter before storming back and evened the score on Cole Carns’ goal with 42 seconds left. Nine minutes later, junior Sean Harrison found the back of the net in double overtime to secure the 9-8 triumph.
Next Up
High Point returns home on Sunday, April 3 to take on Mercer at noon in Vert Stadium.