RADNOR, PA – Edith Robb Dixon Field will play host to a pair a NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament First Round game son Saturday and a Second Round match-up on Sunday. Cabrini is one of eight host sites to host opening round games this weekend for the 31 team field.
The No. 5 Cavaliers will face Grove City in Saturday's second game, slated for a 3pm start, with No. 2 Salisbury meeting SUNY Poly at noon in the day's opening contest.
Live Stats/Webcast
All three games will be broadcast on the Atlantic East Conference Network at
AtlanticEastNetwork.com/Cabrini, with production by the Sports Fan Base Network.
Live stats for the three games will also be available at the links below.
Salisbury vs. SUNY Poly:
https://www.ncaa.com/game/5836390
Cabrini vs. Grove City:
https://www.ncaa.com/game/5836391
2nd Round Game:
https://www.ncaa.com/game/5836399
Tickets
Due to NCAA and state COVID-19 regulations, a limited number of tickets will be available for the games. All ticket sales will be handled by the competing institutions. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Due to space limitations and protocols, all tickets fans must watch the game from the Edith Robb Dixon Field stands. No spectators will be permitted to watch the games from the parking lot.
How Cabrini Got Here
The Blue and White will make its 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after claiming its 20th straight conference championship with last Saturday's 19-5 win over Neumann.
After extending its NCAA-record conference win streak to 127 with a perfect 6-0 conference slate, Cabrini topped Marywood 22-6 in the Atlantic East Conference tournament semifinal round before downing the Knights.
Senior
Matt LoParo was named Most Valuable Player after pairing five goals, two assists five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Junior
Kyle Tucker had a career day in the victory, as both his six goals and seven total points marked career highs.
Senior
Tommy DeLuca scored a goal and added three caused turnovers and a game high eight ground balls to the Cavaliers' defensive effort. Fellow senior
Bobby Cressman also paired three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while classmate
Jake Klein paired four assists and six ground balls.
Freshman goaltender
Rob Pensabene provided the backstop to a defensive effort that pressured the Knights into 28 turnovers, while allowing just 24 shots. The rookie tallied 13 saves in his first career start.
Scouting the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers boast a high powered offensive attack, one that ranks 12th in the nation, scoring 18.75 goals per contest. The Blue and White also rank among the nation's best in assists per game (6th – 12.5), points per game (9th – 31.25) and fewest turnovers (3rd – 13.75).
The key to the Cabrini attack is balance, as 10 Cavaliers have recorded at least 10 goals, With LoParo leading the way with 45 goals and 55total points. Senior
Ty Kostack, Tucker and freshman
Max Drift have also surpassed the 20 goal plateau in the team's 12 games. Klein directs the offense to the tune of 33 assists, 13th in Division III.
Defensively, DeLuca, the two-time Atlantic East Conference Defensive Player of the Year, remains a stalwart in front of the Blue and White cage for a defensive unit that has allowed on 7.5 goals per game. The senior leads the team and conference with 34 caused turnovers, 20th in the country, and 49 ground balls.
Sophomore goaltender
Matt Sageder has led the Cavaliers to 10 victories on the season and will enter the tournament with a conference best 8.58 goals against average and 57 saves.
Cabrini's success at the faceoff spot has provided a spark the club's offense, as the team has won north of 62% of its faceoffs on the season. The duo of junior
Matthew Ries and sophomore
Jake Huey 162 faceoff wins in 267 chances.
How Grove City Got Here
The Wolverines secured a spot in the tournament by virtue of Saturday's 19-6 victory over Westminster in the final of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament. The win marked the program's second consecutive conference crown, resulting in the program's second NCAA Tournament bid.
Eight Wolverines marked the scoring column in the win, led by sophomore James Petrolle, who tallied six goals en route to Championship Most Outstanding Player honors, while junior Brett Gladstone added five goals. The junior also joined Petrolle and classmates Addison Bennett, Grant Evans and Michael La Forte on the All-Tournament Team.
The Wolverines' defensive effort held Westminster to just 21 shots and pressured it into 32 turnovers. Bennett led the defense with five caused turnovers, two more than junior Cody Adams, while sophomore goaltender Jack Petit recorded four save sin 45 minutes of action to earn the team's 10th consecutive win.
With the score tied at 2-2 five minutes into the action, the Wolverines began to pull away. The home side netted four unanswered goals, with Gladstone's third goal of the first quarter came with just 29 ticks on the clock and put Grove City ahead 6-2.
But in the second quarter, the Wolverines put the game on ice, outscoring Westminster 7-2 to take a commanding 13-4 lead into the halftime break.
Scouting the Wolverines
In just its fourth year, the Wolverines have established themselves in the national statistical rankings, as Grove City ranks in the nation's top 10 in 11 statistical categories, including scoring offense, scoring defense, points per game and assists.
Petrolle and La Forte lead an attack the features five players with north of 40 points on the season. Petrolle's 49 goals and 75 points lead the club, while La Forte's 40 assists rank eighth in the country and his 72 points second on the team. Gladstone's 48 goals are good for second on the club and include eight man-up markers.
Grant Evans has been dominant at the faceoff spot, as his .847 win percentage (166-196) leads Div. III, while his 13.45 ground balls per outing rank third in the country.
Addison has be an integral part of a Wolverines' defensive effort that has allowed just 27.3 shots per game and held its opponents to just 12 man-up goals in 55 chances. The junior leads the club with 27 caused turnovers to go with 41 ground balls, while a trio of teammates have forced 13 miscues.
Petit has recorded 77 saves on the season and sports a .602 save percentage, 24th in Division III. The sophomore has surrenders just 7.04 goals per game and has not allowed 10 goals in a game since Grove City's season-opening 20-11 win over Westminster, a string of 11 games.
How Salisbury Got Here
A name synonymous with the Div. III NCAA Tournament, Salisbury is making its 32nd consecutive tournament appearance and Div. III record 38th overall appearance. The No. 2 Sea Gulls collected their 24th conference title with Saturday's 12-9 win over No. 9 Christopher Newport in the Coast-to-Coast Conference (C2C) championship.
Freshman Jack Dowd led the Sea Gulls with a career best seven points in the final, pairing three goals and four assists, while graduate student Griffin Moroney and senior Jarrett Bromwell adding three goals each.
Senior Brett Malamphy controlled the faceoff circle, winning 15 of 21 faceoffs and scooping a game-high 14 ground balls. Senior Brad Apgar caused a team-high three turnovers, while freshman goaltender Matty Back recorded 10 saves to win his second career start.
Dowd found Moroney twice in the first half to give Salisbury a 2-0 lead midway through the opening half and the home side never looked back. The Sea Gulls led 201 after 15 minutes and 6-3 at the half after Dowd scored with 100 seconds left in the second quarter.
Christopher Newport remained within reach throughout the third quarter, before Moroney beat the third quarter buzzer to extend Salisbury's lead to 9-5 with 15 minutes to play. A 4-2 spurt in the final period pulled the Captains to within 11-9 with 2:25 to play, before junior Logan Posner's goal with 11 seconds to play sealed the C2C title.
Scouting the Sea Gulls
Winners of 13 straight games since a season-opening 10-8 loss at Lynchburg, the Sea Gulls enter the tournament as, not only one of the hottest teams in the country, but one of the season-long favorites. Since opening the season atop the USILA rankings, Salisbury has remained in the top five all season.
The Sea Gulls boast one of the nation's top scoring units, ranking seventh in Division III with 20.21 goals per game, and rank among the country's leaders in scoring margin, assists and turnovers.
Salisbury is lead by a trio of seniors who have combined for 217 points in just 14 games. Cross Ferrara leads the way with 84 points on 65 goals and 19 assists, while josh Melton pairs a team-high 41 dimes with 31 goals. Bromwell has found the back of the net 52 times en route to 61 points.
Malamphy sparks the Salisbury attack, as the senior owns a .750 win percentage with 116 ground balls, both ranking among the best marks in the country. The senior has won at least nine duels in each of his 11 games and has lost more than six faceoffs just twice all season.
The Sea Gulls are just as balance don the defensive end with three players who have recorded at least 16 caused turnovers and 30 ground balls. Apgar and graduate student Kevin Murphy have forced 23 miscues each and combined for 70 ground balls, while freshman John DeFazio has matched Murphy with 40 ground balls to go with 16 caused turnovers.
Senior goaltender TJ Ellis started Salisbury's first 12 games and sported a 6.0 goals against average with a .597 save percentage, but over the last two contest, Back has manned the Sea Gulls' pipes. The rookie earned victories in both C2C tournament games with 31 saves while stopping .554 of his shots.
How SUNY Poly Got Here
The Wildcats earned their first NCAA Tournament berth after capping its best season in program history. SUNY Poly claimed its first Northern Athletic Conference (NAC) title with a 25-8 win over Husson and will enter the tournament as one of just nine undefeated teams at 10-0.
Husson opened the scoring with two goal in the opening five goals, but the Wildcats responded in a big way. The home side rattled off five unanswered goals late in the first quarter to build a 7-2 lead after 15 minutes of action. SUNY Poly continued its hot shooting in the second quarter, as eight different players accounted for the team's eight second period markers, extending its cushion to 15-5 at the half.
Junior Brody Guido led the way, matching a career best with six points on two goals and four dimes, while sophomores Andrew Maycock and Amelio Ripa found the back of the net four times. Senior Robert Pollock matched junior Shane Wyman with three goals, while going 14-28 at the faceoff x, causing three turnovers and securing a game high five ground balls.
Junior Joseph Fontenalla paired five caused turnovers and four ground balls, anchoring a defensive that caused 22 turnovers and pressured Husson into 31 miscues on the day. Sophomore goaltender Matthew Johnson was called on to make five first half saves to earn the victory.
Scouting the Wildcats
SUNY Poly has ridden to the NCAA Tournament on the strength of a stingy defense that has yet to surrender more the 11 goals in any game this season. The Wildcats scoring defense ranks 16th in Div. III, allowing just north of 7.0 goals per game, while causing 13.8 turnovers per outing, 14th in the nation.
Johnson provides the back stop to the defensive effort, as the sophomore's 6.99 goal against average is good for 11th in the country, while his .576 save percentage ranks third in the NAC.
Johnson gets plenty of help from his defensive mates, as five Wildcats have recorded at least 15 caused turnovers, led by Pollock and sophomore Steven Sullivan, who have forced 18 and 16, respectively.
Graduate student Edward Rosaschi leads the SUNY Poly attack with 42 points on 25 goals and 17 assists. Guido ranks second on the team with 35 points, while his 19 dimes rank fourth in the league. The threesome of Wyman, Maycock and Ripa have scored 15-18 goals on the season and combined for nine of the team's 17 man-up goals.
Sophomore Dillon May has been solid at the X all season, winning 71 of his 150 opportunities, while senior Ryan Mead has gone 36-80.
