Game Info: Saturday, April 17 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Quick Stadium - Chester, Pa.
Social Media: @WidenerSports |
@WidenerLacrosse
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Opening Face-off
The Pride honors its seniors when it hosts No. 13 Stevenson on Saturday, April 17. Opening face-off from Quick Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Last Time Out - @WidenerLacrosse Downs Albright Behind Career-High Scoring Output From Heisman
The Widener University men's lacrosse team upended the Albright Lions 17-7 on Wednesday evening to advance to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Connor Heisman recorded the best scoring output of his career, posting a personal best nine points off six goals and three helpers. With his goal on an extra man opportunity in the third quarter, he became Widener's all-time leader in man-up goals with 21.
- Paz Gismondi tied a career-high four assists and added two goals.
- Matt Buckley delivered his third hat trick of the season with three scores.
- Tommy Fredericks led all players on the field with eight ground balls and caused a team-high three turnovers.
- Carter Landry came up with 12 saves and posted a 63.2 percent save-percentage in the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride raced to an early 4-1 lead after one quarter behind two goals from
Alex Trottier. Albright pulled within two in the second, but three straight Widener scores to end the quarter allowed it to enter halftime up 9-4.
Albright found the board first in the second act two minutes in, but three man-up goals from the Blue and Gold further extended its lead to seven after three. Widener tacked on four more in the final quarter to go up by double digits as it cruised to its seventh victory of the season.
Scouting Report
Stevenson enters the matchup 4-0 and ranked 13th in the USILA week 10 poll. The Mustangs have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 8.5 goals this season.
A balanced scoring attack has been a key for Stevenson as 10 players have multiple goals, led by Connor Nelson with 12. Shane Ford and Jacob Tatum come in second with nine scores a piece. Nicholas Mulvey leads the defense with nine caused turnovers with Shiloh Shassian leading the way on the face-off, winning 70.4 percent (38-of-54). In net, Marc Poust has stopped 61.0 percent of shots that have come his way. His 5.25 goals-against average ranks second in the MAC Commonwealth and sixth in all of NCAAD3.
Paul Cantabene is in his 17th season at the helm for the Lions, compiling a 231-74 record in that time. He has led his team to seven consecutive MAC Commonwealth titles and 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, winning the national title in 2013 and reaching the semifinals four times.
Senior Day
Widener is honoring 14 seniors before Saturday's game as they suit up for one of the last times at Quick Stadium. These players include:
Gio Gismondi,
Mario Scotese,
Mark Marx,
Nick DiIorio,
Tim Irvine,
Drew Dunn,
Sean Feiss,
Connor Ball,
John Petriccione,
Paz Gismondi,
Carter Landry,
Kenneth Watts,
Tom Hartnett, and
Chad Allison.
Manning The Man-Up
The Blue and Gold's ability to convert on extra man opportunities has been a big reason why Widener's offense ranks in the top-25 nationally, capitalizing on 46.7 percent of man-up chances.
Connor Heisman's six man-up goals this season ranks first in the conference and 16th in all of NCAAD3. The Pride is 5-1 when it records two or more man-up goals.
Spreading The Scoring
While teams often have a go-to player when they need a goal, having multiple options so the defense can't key on one player is a big advantage. The Blue and Gold has taken that concept to the extreme this season as 26 players have found the back of the net and 17 have scored multiple times.
Connor Heisman leads the way with 27 with
Connor Ball and
Matt Buckley finding rope 16 times a piece.
Familiar Face(off)s
A successful attack starts in the face-off circle. Returning senior
Kenneth Watts boasts a 59.6 percent face-off winning percentage this season, dominating 62-of-104 battles so far.
Adam Oldrati and
Sean Gibson also contribute as specialists, both posting winning percentages of 61.0 percent. Oldrati comes away with the ball on many of his wins and leads the Blue and Gold with 31 ground balls this season.
Up Next
The Pride finishes conference play with a midweek matchup against Messiah on Wednesday, April 21. Opening face-off from Quick Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
