PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks will close out the 2016 regular season at home when the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team (10-3, 4-1 NEC) hosts Mount St. Mary's (6-7, 2-3 NEC) in Northeast Conference action this Saturday, April 30. Opening face-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field. A victory will clinch SJU's right to host the 2016 NEC Championships, to be held May 5 and 7, on Sweeney Field for the third consecutive year and would clinch a share of the NEC regular-season title.
Live streaming of Saturday's game 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.
On a national scale, Saint Joseph's ranks in the top 15 of 10 team categories, including shot percentage (3rd, 37.3%), scoring margin (4th, 4.69), points per game (9th, 19.22), face-off winning percentage (9th, 60.5%), scoring defense (10th, 7.92), winning percentage (10th, 76.9%), clearing percentage (11th, 89.0%), assists per game (11th, 7.31), scoring offense (12th, 12.62), and man-down defense (15th, 70.0%). SJU leads the NEC in shot percentage, scoring margin, points per game, face-off winning percentage, scoring defense, winning percentage, clearing percentage, assists per game, and scoring offense.
Nationally, junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones ranks fifth in goals against average (7.42) and sixth in save percentage (57.8%), while junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham ranks ninth in winning percentage from the X (62.9%). The duo leads the NEC in their respective categories. Junior attackman Mike Rastivo ranks second in the league in goals per game (2.46), assists per game (1.54), and points per game (4.00).
Mount St. Mary's enters Saturday's game as the conference leader in caused turnovers per game (8.15) and fewest turnovers per game (12.38).
SENIOR DAY
Prior to Saint Joseph's game vs. Mount St. Mary's, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse program will honor seniors Kevin Forster, Rich Gabelman, Bryan Garrahan, Joe McErlean, Cameron Riley, Pat Swanick, and John Winchell alongside former player and current manager Chase Elliott in a Senior Day ceremony, scheduled to begin at 12:50 p.m.
HIGH-FLYING HAWKS
Through 13 games, Tewarraton Award Watch List selection Mike Rastivo (32g, 20a) sophomore attackman Chris Blewitt (20g, 15a), senior midfielder Kevin Forster (19g, 14a), and sophomore attackman Kyle Cain (18g, 14a) lead SJU with 30+ points while seven total Hawks have scored 10+ goals for the Crimson and Gray. Junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham has gone 62.9% (141-of-224) from the X to go with a team-best 63 ground balls. Senior John Winchell (team-best 13ct, 0.0 penalty minutes) and juniors Charles Giunta and Shane Taggert have anchored SJU's defensive unit. Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (10-3, 4-1 NEC) sports a 7.42 goals against average and .578 save percentage in 743:43.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the 21st all-time meeting between the Hawks and the Mountaineers; Mount St. Mary's owns a 13-7 series edge. SJU is 2-0 under the direction of head coach Taylor Wray and has outscored the Mount 26-9 over the past two seasons. Prior to 2014's game, the teams had not met since 2010.
SCOUTING MOUNT ST. MARY'S
After starting the season 5-3 with wins over Delaware (14-11), Georgetown (11-8), Furman (10-8), VMI (14-2), and Sacred Heart (19-16) and losses to Towson (9-5), Richmond (9-6), and Robert Morris (11-9), the Mountaineers dropped four straight to Bucknell (15-10), UMBC (14-11), Hobart (12-6), and Bryant (12-7) before earning a win over Wagner (7-3) this past Saturday. Mark Hojnoski (25g, 15a) leads the Mount in scoring while Matt Vierheller (4-5, 1-3 NEC) sports a 10.93 goals against average and .447 save percentage in 455:48 and Frankie McCarthy (2-2, 1-0 NEC) owns an 8.77 goals against average and .489 save percentage in 321:32.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior midfielder Kevin Forster scored on a feed from junior attackman Mike Rastivo with 1:01 remaining in overtime to lift the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team to a 9-8 win over Penn on Tuesday evening at Rhodes Field. The win marked the program's first ever victory over the Quakers in 13 all-time meetings. Rastivo recorded a game-high six points on two goals and a game-high four assists while Forster (2g, 1a) and junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger tallied two goals apiece. Junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham went 14-of-20 from the X, including an 8-of-12 first-half showing. Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (10-3) made seven saves in the full 62:59 to pick up his 10th win of the season, a new single-season program record.
HAWKS PICKED SECOND IN NEC PRESEASON POLL
The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team was picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference this season, according to the conference's preseason poll. The Hawks return back-to-back NEC Coach of the Year Taylor Wray, 2015 NEC Offensive Player of the Year and All-NEC First Team selection Mike Rastivo, 2015 NEC Rookie of the Year and All-NEC Rookie Team pick Chris Blewitt, back-to-back All-NEC First Team defenseman John Winchell, and 2015 All-NEC Second Team picks Pat Swanick (A), Kevin Forster (M) and Mike Lanham (FOS). Saint Joseph's returned 31 letterwinners and added 14 newcomers to the field for the 2016 season.
RECORD WATCH
Entering Saturday's game, Saint Joseph's junior attackman Mike Rastivo ranks sixth in career goals (102), seventh in points (148), ninth in shots (262) and 10th in assists (46) at SJU; his 32 goals this season also tie for eighth in single-season goals. Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones now owns the program record for single-season wins (10) and ranks seventh in career saves (309); he is also one victory away from matching the program record in career wins (25). Senior defenseman John Winchell ranks sixth in career games played (60) while junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham ranks 10th in career ground balls (163).
Additionally, head coach Taylor Wray has 43 career victories on Hawk Hill, one short of tying the all-time record (44), set by Paul Perdue from 1998-2004.
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 ranks sixth in career goals (102), seventh in points (148), ninth in shots (262) and 10th in assists (46) at SJU; his 32 goals this season also tie for eighth in single-season goals. The junior also owns a point scoring streak of 35 games, which ranks ninth among active Division I players.
SWANICK NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST, WINCHELL CANDIDATE
Ten NCAA® men's lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as finalists for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award® for collegiate lacrosse, and Saint Joseph's senior attackman Pat Swanick was tabbed a finalist for the prestigious award. All of Swanick's achievements in the areas of community, classroom, character, and competition can be found in his Senior CLASS Award biography. Fan balloting counts for 1/3 of the total with the remaining 2/3 determined by NCAA Division I coaches and national media members, and fans can vote for Pat now through May 9!
Senior defenseman John Winchell was also honored by the Senior Class Award, having been selected one of 20 original candidates back on February 16.
