PHILADELPHIA – Riding a three-game winning streak into conference play, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad (3-3) opens Northeast Conference action at Hobart (3-4, 1-0 NEC) this Saturday, March 24. Opening face-off at Boswell Field in Geneva, N.Y. is set for noon.

The Hawks were predicted to finish fourth in the NEC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's seven head coaches. The Statesmen, who opened conference play with a road win over Wagner on Saturday, were tabbed second. The 2018 NEC Championship will be held on Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5 at the site of the regular-season champion.

Ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense with just 7.67 goals allowed per game and ninth nationally in man-down defense at a clip of 79.2 percent, the Hawks will go up against a Statesman offense that averages 10.86 goals per outting. The battle at the X will be a point of focus as Saint Joseph's freshman face-off specialist Billy Jardeleza averages 57.9 percent and Hobart's Matthew Pedicine averages 65.1 percent, which both rank in the nation's top 20.

After dropping three straight to open the season, the Hawks bounced back to go 3-0 in their most recent games, holding Monmouth and NJIT to five goals apiece with an exciting 10-9 win over Drexel sandwiched in between. Seven Hawks scored at least three goals apiece in those three games combined, led by graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo (5g, 3a), senior midfielder Kyle Cain (5g, 1a), and senior attackmen Chris Blewitt (4g, 2a), and Patrick O'Brien (4g), while senior short stick midfielder Davis Stoner (2g, 3a) and senior long stick midfielder Austin Smith (3g, 2a) combined for 10 points. 

Through six non-conference games, veterans Cain (team-high 10g, 4a), Rastivo (9g, 5a), and Blewitt (7g, team-high 6a) lead the Hawks in scoring with a combined 41 of SJU's 83 points. Smith (3g, 2a) and Stoner (2g, 3a), the latter of whom was tabbed the NEC Defensive Player of the Week last week, have been integral in the transition game; Smith has gone for a team-high 21 ground balls alongsidefive caused turnovers while Stoner owns 16 ground balls and a team-high seven caused turnovers.

Jardeleza has won 44 of 76 possessions from the X to average 57.9 percent through six games. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler (2-3) has made 60 saves vs. 41 goals allowed to sport a .594 save percentage, which ranks fourth nationally, and 8.26 goals against average in 297:42, while senior goalkeeper Pat Dallon (1-0) picked up the win over NJIT by holding the Highlander's offensive unit to four goals last time out.

Through six games, Rastivo and Blewitt have been staples on the attack while Cain and senior midfielder Hayes McGinley have made all seven starts in the midfield. The defensive unit has been set with seniors Brendan McNicholas and Nick Buckley and sophomore Tyler Makar while Adler has started five of SJU's six games of the season at this point.

Hobart opened the season with three consecutive losses to then-#12 Penn State, 15-8, Siena, 12-11, and Cornell, 15-8, before picking up a pair of home wins over Binghamton, 17-6, and Colgate, 12-11. The Statesmen then dropped a 12-9 road contest to then-#18/#16 Georgetown before opening NEC action with a dominating 11-5 road win over Wagner this past Saturday, March 17; Ryan Archer had seven points (2g, 5a), Chris Aslanian went for three goals and two helpers, Pedicine went 16-of-20 from the X, and Sam Lucchesi made 10 saves in the victory. 

On the season, Aslanian (15g, team-high 13a), Eric Holden (15g, 9a), Archer (11g, 10a), and Justin Scott (team-high 17g, 2a) own double-digit points. Pedicine averages 65.1 percent (84-of-129) from the X, which ranks eighth nationally, with a team-high 35 ground balls while the Sam Mueller (27 ground balls, team-high 12 caused turnovers) and Christopher Willman (21gb, 10ct) own strong defensive numbers for the Statesmen. Hobart's Sam Lucchesi (3-2, .514 save percentage, 263:41) and Tristan Dougherty (0-2, .355 save percentage, 156:19) have split time in net, with Lucchesi playing the last four full games and ranking eighth nationally in goals against average (8.19).

Saturday's game will mark the ninth all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Hobart. The Statesmen lead the series, 5-3, but SJU is an even 3-3 vs. Hobart since seventh-year head coach Taylor Wray took over the program. Saint Joseph's will look to avenge an 8-7 overtime loss at home last spring.

All-time series results are listed below:
2017 - L - 8-7 (OT) - Home
2016 - L - 11-7 - Home (NEC Championship Game)
2016 - W - 13-5 - Away
2015 - W - 7-6 (OT) - Home
2014 - L - 10-9 (2OT) - Home (NEC Semifinals)
2014 - W - 15-8 - Away
2009 - L - 12-7 - Home
2008 - L - 8-3 - Away

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