PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad (4-3, 1-0 NEC) is set to face Wagner (4-5, 0-1 NEC) in Northeast Conference action this Saturday, March 31. Opening face-off at Hameline Stadium in Staten Island, N.Y. is set for 1:00 p.m. The Hawks are in the midst of a four-game win streak, while the Seahawks have won their last two games, both non-conference contests.
The Hawks were predicted to finish fourth in the NEC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's seven head coaches. The Seahawks, who opened conference play with a home loss to Hobart on March 17, were tabbed seventh. The 2018 NEC Championship, a four-team tournament, will be held on Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5 at the site of the regular-season champion.
Numbers-wise, Saturday's game appears to have the makings of a defensive battle as both starting goalkeepers rank in the nation's top 15 in both save percentage and goals against average.
Saint Joseph's ranks third nationally, and leads the NEC, in scoring defense by allowing just 7.29 goals per game. The Hawks' back line is comprised of seniors Nick Buckley and Brendan McNicholas and sophomore Tyler Makar, while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler backstops the Hawks with a .620 save percentage and 7.72 goals against average, both of which rank in the top five nationally.
The Hawks will go up against a Wagner defense that forces 9.67 turnovers a game, which ranks fourth nationally, and allows just 8.56 goals per game, which ranks 10th nationally. Andrew Park averages 2.56 caused turnovers per game to sit in the nation's top five while goalkeeper Matt Sefcik boasts a .621 save percentage, second-best in the nation.
After dropping three straight to open the season, the Hawks bounced back to go 4-0 in their most recent games, including a gritty 6-5 road win last time out in their NEC opener at Hobart; Adler made 15 saves on 20 shots faced, including 13 saves on 14 shots faced in the first half, and senior attackman Chris Blewitt notched a second-half hat trick to lead the Hawks to the win.
For the season, Blewitt (team-high 10g, team-high 7a), graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo (9g, season-high 7a), and senior midfielder Kyle Cain (team-high 10g, 4a) lead the Hawks in scoring with a combined 47 of SJU's 94 points. Senior long stick midfielder Austin Smith (3g, 2a, team-high 23 ground balls, seven caused turnovers), senior short stick defensive midfielder Davis Stoner (3g, 3a, 20gb, team-high 8ct) and senior midfielder Will McNamara (2g, 4a, 12gb) have been integral in the transition game while freshman face-off specialist Billy Jardeleza averages 54.4 percent (49-of-90) from the X. Adler (3-3) has been phenomenal in net with a .620 save percentage and 7.72 goals against average with 75 saves and 46 goals allowed in 357:42.
Wagner opened the season with an 11-5 win over Manhattan before dropping three in a row to Lafayette, 8-7 2OT, Monmouth, 17-4, and Dartmouth, 9-8. The Seahawks then earned a 9-8 win over VMI before suffering back-to-back setbacks to Quinnipiac, 11-3, and Hobart, 11-5. Wagner then won its most recent two games against Hampton, 15-3, and NJIT, 7-5, last Saturday; the Seahawks used a 6-0 uncontested run that spanned the end of the first quarter through the beginning of the third to earn the victory.
For the season, Andrew Streilein (13g, 9a), John Norton (15g, 2a), and Nick Ancona (12g, 6a) lead the Seahawks in scoring while Park's 29 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers lead the squad defensively. Sefcik (4-5) sports a .621 save percentage and 8.57 goals against average in 504:05, all but 40:07 on the spring.
Saturday's game will mark the 18th all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Wagner, and the Hawks have won all 17 games. The teams have played each other every season since 2000 with the exception of 2011.
Series results from all meetings under the direction of head coach Taylor Wray listed below:
2017 - W - 14-5 - Home
2016 - W - 15-6 - Away
2015 - W - 14-3 - Home
2014 - W - 12-8 - Away
2013 - W - 10-4 - Home
2012 - W - 6-5 - Away
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SJU alumnae, family and friends, the Hawks will host SJU Men's Lacrosse Alumnae and Family Day on Saturday, April 14 in conjunction with the Hawks' home game vs. Bryant at 1:00 p.m. Registration can be made online by visiting alumni.sju.edu/mlax. For more information, contact Christina Henderson at 610-660-3280 or chenders@sju.edu.
Be sure to follow the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse program on Twitter and Instagram and like the Hawks on Facebook. Fans can receive all of the latest news and info on the men's lacrosse program with Hawk E-News.
Also be sure to check out Sideline Photos, LLC's shots from home games vs. Fairfield and St. John's at PhotoShelter.com.
