No. 8 Cabrini University Cavaliers (17-2, 7-0 CSAC) at No. 5 Wesleyan University Cardinals (15-3, 9-1 NESCAC)
Saturday, May 12, 1pm
Middletown, CT

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Ticket Information
Tickets will go on sale at 3pm at the main entrance to Jackson Field.  Adult tickets will cost $6, students with college ID will cost $3 and children ages 3-12 will cost $2.  Children age two and under will be free.

What's at Stake?
Saturday's winner will advance to the nation quarterfinal round to be played on Wednesday, May 16. The winner will face either No. 6 Tufts (17-1) or No. 15 Ithaca (16-3), who will also meet at 1pm on Saturday in another third round match-up.

The Cavaliers are looking to score a second NCAA Tournament win in a season for just the third time in program history and second year in a row. A victory would also set a new program record for wins in a season.

The Cardinals return to the NCAA Championships for a second consecutive season and sixth time overall. Wesleyan is 9-5 all-time in the national postseason, with a pair of trips to the national semifinal, including a run last season that ended with a 22-9 loss at RIT in the semifinal.

How Wesleyan Got Here
The Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the tournament after suffering a tough 12-9 loss to No. 6 Tufts in the NESCAC Championship game.  The championship marked Wesleyan's eighth conference championship appearance in the 18 year history of the league.

Tufts snapped a 5-5 halftime tie midway through the third quarter, but senior Taylor Ghesquiere and junior Carter Hawthorne scored in a 60 second span to put the Cardinals ahead with six minutes left in the frame. Tufts responded with four unanswered goals to take an insurmountable 10-7 lead in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.  

Wesleyan boasts a balanced attack that features six players with north of 35 points on the year. Freshman Ronan Jacoby and senior Harry Stanton provide the majority of the Cardinals' goal scoring with 56 and 48 goals respectively, while Hawthorne's 59 assists are a single season program record and rank sixth in seventh in the country.  

The senior defensive duo of Andres Rodriguez and Jake Crest anchor a defensive unit that allows just 8.56 goals per game. The seniors have combined for 63 caused turnovers and 94 ground balls on the season. 

Sophomore goaltender Otto Bohan surrenders just over 8.0 goals per contest with a .564 save percentage.

Sophomore Zack Zavalick provides a spark to the Cardinals' attack from the faceoff spot, where the sophomore has earned 176 faceoff wins with 111 ground balls in 18 games.

Cabrini Last Time Out: Cabrini 21, Colorado College 10 (NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round, 5/9/2018, Radnor, PA)
Nearly a year to the day after downing Colorado College 22-10 in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Cabrini scored a 21-10 win over tie Tigers in the second round of this year's tournament.

The Cavaliers used a 5-0 spurt between the first and second quarters to snap a 3-3 tie, then scored 10 of 11 goals in the third and fourth periods, extending its cushion to 20-7 midway through the final frame.

Seven Cavaliers tallied at least three points in today's victory, with sophomore Matt LoParo leading the way with six points, including a season-high five assists. Junior Timmy Brooks netted five goals, while classmate Jordan Krug paired four goals and a helper.

Defensemen Joey Hoey and Tommy DeLuca anchored the Cabrini back line, as the duo scooped five ground balls each and combined for three caused turnovers. Junior goaltender Riley White recorded 10 saves to earn his 14th victory of the season.

Wesleyan Last Time Out: Wesleyan 16, SUNY Cortland 12 (NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round, 5/9/2018, Middletown, CT)
The Cardinals used a pair of runs to pull away from SUNYAC champion SUNY Cortland in Wednesday's second round action. Trailing 3-2 midway through the first quarter, Jacoby keyed a four goal spurt that gave the home team a 6-4 lead it would not relinquish.

Hawthorne recorded three helpers in a 5-0 run spanning the second and third quarters that saw Wesleyan extend its lead to a commanding 12-6 with 5:22 left in the third.

Jacoby led Wesleyan with five goals and an assists with junior Scott Irwin and Stanton notching three goals each, while Hawthorne handed out four assists.

Sophomore Zach Zavalick went 19-27 at the faceoff X and scooped 12 ground balls, while sophomore goaltender Otto Bohan posted 13 saves. Rodriguez and sophomore Colin Malarchuk combined for four of the Cardinals' five caused turnovers.

5 Factors for Cabrini

• With Wednesday's win, the Cavaliers tied the program record for single season wins with 17.
• Cabrini leads the nation with a 10.26 scoring margin. It also ranks in the nation's top 10 in scoring offense, assists, ground balls, assists per game, points per game, turnovers, shot percentage and clearing percentage.
• White's 7.05 goals against average ranks 20th in Division III.
• Ten Cavaliers have scored at least 10 goals on the year, with Krug (57), Brooks (55) and LoParo (41) leading the way.
• The Blue and White has forced at least seven turnovers in each of its last 14 games and in 17 of its 19 games this season.

5 Factors for Wesleyan

• The Cardinals are 22-1 in their last 23 home games, with their only loss coming in the NESCAC championship game. Included in that streak are three home wins in last year's NCAA Tournament.
• The program's all-time leaders and assists are both active players. Stanton owns Wesleyan's marks for goals in a season (86) and career (212), while Hawthorne set the career assists record (125) on Wednesday.
• Wesleyan has recorded at least 40 shots in 14 of its 18 contests this season.
• A program record seven Cardinals were named to the All-NESCAC Team, with Jacoby, NESCAC Rookie of the Year, joining Bohan with First Team honors.
• The Cardinals have caused at least seven turnovers in 14 of their 18 games on the year.

 

	TALE OF THE TAPE
#8 Cabrini		#5 Wesleyan
17-2, 7-0 CSAC	Record	15-3, 9-1 NESCAC
334	Goals	228
184	Assists	154
955	Shots	759
721	Ground Balls	633
194	Caused Turnovers	157
.533	Faceoff Percentage	.581
.896	Clear Percentage	.833
.538	Save Percentage	.527
	TEAM LEADERS
Jordan Krug (57)	Goals	Ronan Jacoby (56)
Matt LoParo (38)	Assists	Carter Hawthorne (59)
Jordan Krug (86)	Points	Carter Hawthorne (79)
Riley Michaels (83)	Ground Balls	Zach Zavalick (111)
Tommy DeLuca (30)	Caused Turnovers	Andres Rodriguez (37)
Riley Michaels (.556)	Faceoff Percentage	Zach Zavalick (.600)
Riley White (.563)	Save Percentage	Otto Bohan (.564)