Opening Faceoff
The Widener University men's lacrosse looks for its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2011 as it takes on the Stevenson Mustangs in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game on Saturday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Matt Horton made 20 saves including three in the final five minutes as the Widener University men's lacrosse team advanced in the MAC Commonwealth Championship with a 12-9 win against the Messiah Falcons on Wednesday night.
Brady Franks led the Pride with his fourth hat trick of the season. A pair of players scored twice for Widener as
Nick DiIorio, and
John Dunbar each had two goals. Paz Gizmondi added a goal four assists in the game.
John Ferguson had three caused turnovers and three ground balls and Widener converted 3-of-7 extra man opportunities in the game.
The two teams traded goals in the first period with the Pride getting the opener from Franks and two from DiIorio to take a 3-2 lead at the end of 15 minutes. The Falcons responded, scoring three in the first seven minutes of the second quarter to take their first lead of the game.
Undeterred, the Blue and Gold bounced back.
Robbie Johnston netted his first goal of the game at the 6:12 mark of the frame followed by Kerby two minutes later to tie the contest. The final two goals of the half went to
Chris Drake and
Gavin Kirkwood 1:04 apart as Widener took a 7-5 lead into the halftime.
Opening the third stanza, Gizmondi scored at the 11:25 mark. Messiah battled back, scoring two in a row to chop the lead to 8-7 with 5:23 left in the quarter. The score stayed that way for the next five minutes before Franks found rope to push the lead to 9-7. With one second left in the third, Kerby took a feed from Franks in the middle and just beat the buzzer, making it a three-goal game entering the final period of play.
Not going away, Messiah scored twice in the first four minutes of the fourth to chop the lead to a single goal with 10:40 to go. With momentum building for the Falcons, Widener was assessed a two-minute penalty. The Pride battled and killed off the EMO with Horton making a pair of saves. On the subsequent clear, the Blue and Gold drew a penalty and scored on the man-up as Dunbar ripped a shot on a feed from Gizmondi.
Leading 12-9, Horton stepped up again, turning aside Messiah's final push to preserve the victory.
Scouting Report
Stevenson enters play 11-5, winners of seven in a row, most recently claiming a 22-7 win in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals against Lycoming on Wednesday. The Mustangs are looking for their sixth straight conference tournament title and are 59-0 including postseason games against MAC Commonwealth opponents since joining the league in 2013.
Conference Offensive Player of the Year JT Thelen leads the attack, highlighting eight All-MAC Commonwealth performers for the Mustangs. He has posted 89 points on the strength of 62 goals and 27 assists this year. Next up is Ethan Christensen who has 40 goals and leads Stevenson with 34 assists. While Thelen and Christensen top the list, SU has balanced options as five players have 25 or more goals and two more have tallied at least 12.
Defensively, the Mustangs allow 9.4 goals per game and are led by Austin Howard who has 17 caused turnovers and 32 ground balls this season, followed closely by Tom Brown at 15 CT and 31 GB. Sam Ross has played nearly 90 percent of the minutes in goal this season and has a 9.23 goals against average with a .543 save percentage.
Playing The Best
Widener went through the gauntlet in its non-conference schedule. The eight teams outside of MAC Commonwealth play are 94-37, a winning percentage of .718, and include four ranked opponents.10 Blue and Gold foes either qualified for or already won their respective conference tournaments and eight have won 10 or more games to this point in the season.
Last Time They Met
In a game of runs, Stevenson turned aside a late Widener push, downing the Pride 11-10 on April 27. Pat Richardson led the Blue and Gold with four goals in the game and
Matt Horton turned aside 14 shots.
You Again?
Saturday is the fourth time in the last six seasons that Widener faces off against Stevenson in the MAC Commonwealth Championship and the second time in the finals with the previous title game coming in 2013, a 9-8 win for SU. Interestingly, Saturday will be the first time the Pride takes on the Mustangs in the conference tournament in an even numbered year as the previous three matchups were in 2013, 2015, and 2017. It is also the first time Widener and Stevenson will play in the tournament that the Mustangs are not ranked in the USILA Top-20 poll.
We'll Take That, Thanks!
Widener has done a great job of taking the ball away from its opponents this season, ranking second in the MAC Commonwealth and in the top-35 in NCAA Division III with 10.65 caused turnovers per game this season.
John Ferguson and
Shane Cook top the team with 37 and 31 CTO respectively. Additionally, Ferguson, who was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year, and Cook both rank in the top-85 nationally in caused turnovers per game. While it may sound like a two-man show for the Pride, four players have forced 10 or more opponent miscues and 32 different players have taken a ball away for the Blue and Gold.
Youth Shall Be Served
Nick DiIorio is the only freshman to appear in all 17 games this season for Widener, ranking third on the squad with 13 goals. He recorded three multi-goal games this year, including a season-best of three at Alvernia and two each against Hood and No. 13 Stevens.
What's At Stake
The winner of Saturday's game receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
