PHILADELPHIA – Coming off of their highest single-game goal total of the season (18), the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team (4-2) will host Delaware (3-5) to close out the non-conference portion of the regular season this Saturday, March 19. Opening face-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field.
Live streaming of all four remaining regular-season home games will be available free of charge through NEC Front Row. For system requirements and best streaming practices, please visit: NEC Front Row. Live stats will also be provided via SJUHawks.com.
Saturday's game will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the Hawks and the Blue Hens; Delaware owns a 13-2 series advantage, but the Hawks have won the last two meetings on March 21 of last season (14-6) and in 2014 (12-9), bringing the Crimson and Gray to 2-0 under the direction of head coach Taylor Wray.
Through six games, Tewarraton Award Watch List selection Mike Rastivo (13g, 10a) leads the Hawks in scoring while sophomore attackmen Chris Blewitt (12g, 10a) and Kyle Cain (10g, 7a), senior midfielder Kevin Forster (11g, 4a), and junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger (12g, 1a) also own 10-plus points for the Crimson and Gray. Saint Joseph's junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham has gone 67% (62-of-92) from the X and has won 17 face-off opportunities in three different games this season. Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (4-2) sports a 7.61 goals against average and .538 save percentage in 339:09.
Saint Joseph's enters Saturday's game coming off of an 18-8 win at Monmouth on Saturday. SJU jumped out to an 11-2 halftime en route to the victory. Rastivo led all scorers with four goals while redshirt sophomore midfielder Hayes McGinley (3g, 1a) and Forster added hat tricks. Seven of SJU's starters and 13 Hawks in all registered at least one point in the victory.
After dropping their first four games to Bucknell (13-5), Mount Saint Mary's (14-11), then-#16 Navy (5-1), and Michigan (10-7), Delaware has bounced back to win three of its last four, including victories over VMI (14-6), Manhattan (6-5), and, most recently, Binghamton (12-11) in overtime on March 12. Paul Major (12g, 8a) and Andrew Romagnoli (13g, 4a), who scored the overtime game-winner vs. Binghamton, lead Delaware in scoring while both Sam Walsh (54-of-96) and Jake Hervada (41-of-73) are 56% from the X. Parker Ferrigan (3-4) has seen most of the action in net and owns a 10.54 GAA and .423 save percentage in 404:04. Delaware went 5-10 out of the Colonial Athletic Association last season.
Under the direction of Wray, the Hawks return 31 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's squad and add 14 newcomers for the 2016 season. The Hawks were picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference this season, according to the conference's preseason poll as announced on February 9. The Hawks open Northeast Conference action on Saturday, March 26 at Hobart.
SATURDAY'S LACROSSE GAMES IN MEMORY OF PAT CULLINAN
The Saint Joseph's men's and women's lacrosse programs will honor the memory of longtime Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse coach Pat Cullinan during the squads' doubleheader this Saturday, March 19. Cullinan passed away this past October 15 after a lengthy bout with cancer. Both teams will wear t-shirts in memory of Cullinan during warm-ups, and donations will be collected for both games. All collected donations will go to the HEADstrong Foundation™, an athletic-rooted organization committed to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential programs and services. The women's game vs. Columbia will be played at noon, and the Cullinan family will be honored between games.
RASTIVO NAMED TO TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LIST
Saint Joseph's junior attackman Mike Rastivo was selected to the 2016 Tewaaraton Award watch list, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced on February 23. The list includes the top men's lacrosse players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2016 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of premier collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced on May 12 and invited to the ceremony. The 16th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., on June 2.
On SJU's all-time career lists, Rastivo currently ranks ninth in points (119) and 10th in goals (83) and shots (218).
SWANICK, WINCHELL NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATES
Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse senior captains Pat Swanick and John Winchell have been selected as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate men's lacrosse, it was announced on February 16. Twenty of the top NCAA men's lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced in conjunction with the 2016 NCAA Men's Lacrosse National Championship in May.
