HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team is back on the Vert Stadium turf on Saturday at noon to host Bellarmine in a critical Southern Conference showdown.
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The Panthers (5-5, 1-2) are looking to move to .500 in league play and move into the top half of the SoCon standings. Meanwhile, the Knights (4-6, 2-1) need a victory to snap a two-game skid.
Last Time Out
• The HPU offense snapped out of its slump in a big way on Sunday for a 15-10 victory over Mercer on Sunday.
• Eight different Panthers recorded multiple points with six players posting two goals.
• Sophomore Peyton Garrett (2g, 1a) tallied a career high in points and ground balls (five). Junior Michael LeClair (2g, 1a) and senior Matt Thistle (1g, 2a) joined Garrett with three points.
• In goal, freshman Tim Troutner Jr. came up huge with 14 saves to go along with a caused turnover to earn his fourth win of the year.
• The squad’s trio of Canadians – senior Dan Lomas, junior Dallas Bridle and sophomore Connor Robinson – all tallied two goals apiece.
• Despite playing mostly in the defensive midfield, junior Nick Basile was the eighth Panther with multiple points tallying a goal and an assist in transition chances.
• Defensively, the Purple & White came up with 13 caused turnovers as junior Tanner Landstra and freshman Griff Caligiuri were credited with two apiece.
• Redshirt-senior Adam Seal paced the team with five ground balls as HPU earned a +6 margin (32-26) on the ground.
Lomas a Finalist for Senior CLASS Award
Dan Lomas was selected as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, the first finalist in program history. You can vote for Lomas by following this link
Troutner SoCon Defensive Player of the Week
Freshman Tim Troutner was named Defensive Player of the Week in the SoCon with 14 saves in the win over Mercer.
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 (36 straight).
• The streak is the longest in HPU history passing Lomas’ streak (32).
• The 36-game streak is the eighth-longest active streak nationally.
• LeClair has scored a goal in nine consecutive contests while Dan Lomas owns the longest active goal-scoring streak with 10 games.
Scouting the Knights
• The Knights started the year 2-4, but have played well since beating Mercer and Jacksonville before losing close games at Providence and at home to Air Force.
• The squad is led offensively by junior Tucker Ciessau. The 2015 all-conference selection has racked up a team-best 23 points on 17 goals and six assists.
• Senior long-stick midfield Taylor Stuart was also on the All-SoCon team in 2015 and is looking to repeat this season (15ct, 33gb).
• Junior Jack Perkins is second on the team with 13 goals and six assists on the year.
• Sophomore Chase Rose has taken over in goal this season for the Knights. He is third in the SoCon in goals-against average (9.14) and sixth in save percentage (.487).
• Behind sophomore Connor Harryman, the Knights lead the conference in face-off percentage (.562). On his own, Harryman paces the conference (104-176, .591).
All-Time Series with Bellarmine
The Knights lead the all-time series 1-2, but the Panthers are 1-0 against Bellarmine in Southern Conference contests.
Last Time They Met
Michael LeClair scored with 40 seconds on the clock to give the Purple & White a 10-9 win on senior day in 2015. The goal was LeClair’s third of the day, but he was outdone by Dan Lomas who tied his own school record with six goals on the day.
Next Up
The Panthers wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, April 16 against Jacksonville at noon.