March 21, 2012
Pioneers Return Home Against Hartford on Wednesday
SACRED HEART (2-4) vs. HARTFORD (2-5)
Game 06 * Fairfield, Conn. * 3:00 p.m. * Campus Field
Live Video * Live Stats
Setting the Scene… The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team returns home for a pair of games this week starting Wednesday afternoon against Hartford. The Pioneers are coming off a 12-11 loss at Vermont on Saturday, ending a two-game winning streak. The Hawks snapped a two-game slide with a 15-12 win at home over Quinnipiac on Satruday.
Last Time Out… The Pioneers rallied back from five-goals down to tie late in the fourth quarter but Vermont's Connor McNamara delivered the game-winner scoring with 10 seconds left to give the Catamounts their first win of the season, 12-11, on Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field. For the Pioneers, it was their fourth loss this season by two goals or less. Sophomore midfielder Tom Sardelli (Rochester, MI) scored three goals to lead eight Pioneers who found the scoring column on Saturday. Sophomore defender Andrew Newbold (Loveland, OH) scored a pair of goals in the loss.
Pioneer News and Notes… The Pioneers have lost four games this season by a combined six goals and haven't had any of their six games decided by more then three goals...SHU closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Saturday night taking on St. John's, who received votes in this week's USILA Coaches' Top-20 and Nike/InsideLacrosse.com Media Top-20 polls...Sophomore
Ryan Hughes (Bayport, NY) made 10 saves in goal and now has double-digit saves in all four of the games he has started... Sophomore
Matt Gannon (Huntington, NY), who leads the league in assists, recorded the only Sacred Heart assist in Saturday's loss... The Pioneers lead the league in man-up goals afer capitalizing on one of five opportunities against Vermont... Despite being held scoreless by the Catamounts, Mike Mawldsley leads the league in man-up goals averaging 0.67 per game.
All-Time vs. Hartford… The Pioneers lead the all-time series 7-6 against the Hawks. Hartford snapped a four-game SHU winning streak in the series wiht a 14-8 win last season. The Pioneers won in overtime in both 2009 and 2010. The first meeting took place in 1998 and the two teams have taken the field against each other every season except the 2004 campaign.
Last Meeting with Hartford... The Pioneers fell behind early to in-state rival Hartford on the road on their way to a 14-8 loss last March. Hartford raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and held SHU to just one goal in the frame. Trailing 12-6 in the fourth, the Pioneers made a late run to cut the lead to four on back-to-back goals by
Mike Mawdsley and
Matt Ferrino, who scored on the man-up. The Hawks responded with goals by Rory Nunamacher and Ryan Compitello to put the game away. Ferrino, Mawdsley and
Bailey Dodds all scored twice for SHU. Bryan Badolato chipped in with a pair of assists, while
Matt King added a man-up goal and two helpers. As a team, Sacred Heart 4-9 in man-up opportunities, but allowed Hartford to convert on three-of-eight tries. For the game, the Hawks dominated the Pioneers in shots, 44-29.
Zach Frank stopped 14 shots between the pipes for Sacred Heart.
Scouting the Hawks… Hartford comes into Wednesday's game carrying a 2-5 record having beaten Quinnipiac 15-12 in their last outing. The Hawks other win came on the road at Brown, 20-6. Averaging 12.43 goals per game, the Hawks boast a 37% shooting percentage with 66.8% of their shots on goal. Seniors Aidan Genik and Carter Bender lead the team with 15 goals each. Scott Bement has started all seven games in goal allowing 12.75 goals per game with a 45.2 save percentage.
Around the NEC… Robert Morris collected two of this week's NEC Awards. Senior midfielder Kiel Matisz was named Offensive Player of the Week after scoring five goals and dishing out two assists in the Colonials' 14-12 win over Hobart. RMU redshirt junior goalkeeper Dillon Pope picks up the nod as Defensive Player of the Week after making 17 saves in his second collegiate start. Bryant's Kevin Massa gets the title of Rookie of the Week after winning 23 of 29 faceoffs last week and recording three assists, a new career-high. Both Bryant and RMU continue to knock on the door of breaking into the coaches and media top-20 polls, both receiving votes again this week. This is the final week of tune-ups before NEC play gets started next weekend.
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