PHILADELPHIA – Northeast Conference Tournament hosting rights are on the line for the Hawks as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad (9-3, 5-0 NEC) heads to #18/20 Robert Morris (10-3, 4-1 NEC) to close the 2018 regular season this Saturday, April 28. Opening face-off for the NEC clash at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa. is set for 1:00 p.m. The Hawks are in the midst of a program-record, nine-game winning streak while the Colonials have won four straight.
A win for the Crimson and Gray would earn SJU the top seed for the four-team, 2018 NEC Tournament as well as the right to host the tournament on Sweeney Field on Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5.
Saint Joseph's, who received votes in this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse/Maverik Lacrosse Division I Media Poll, and were predicted to finish fourth in the NEC Preseason Poll, sits atop the NEC standings while Robert Morris, ranked 18th in this week's USILA poll and 20th in the Inside Lacrosse poll, sits third; both teams, alongside Bryant, have clinched NEC Tournament berths.
Backed by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler and joined by starting defensemen Nick Buckley, Brendan McNicholas, and Tyler Makar and defensive midfielders Austin Smith, Davis Stoner, Will McNamara, and Liam Hare, SJU leads the conference and ranks seventh nationally in scoring defense at a clip of 7.92 goals allowed per game. The backbone of the defensive unit is Adler, who ranks second in the league and in the top-ten nationally in save percentage (60.4%), saves per game (12.18), and goals against average (8.11).
It will be a battle in the cage on Saturday as the Hawks' offensive unit goes up against RMU goalkeeper Alex Heger, the NEC leader in save percentage (60.8%) and goals against average (7.65).
NINE IN A ROW
With their 14-7 win over Mount St. Mary's last Saturday afternoon, the Hawks earned their ninth-consecutive win to mark the longest winning streak in program history. The streak began with SJU's 11-5 win over Monmouth on March 10, as the Crimson and Gray has not suffered a defeat in 47 days (as of Thursday, April 26), since falling to St. John's on March 6.
KING OF THE HILL
Graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo scored four goals against Bryant, the third of which broke the all-time, goal-scoring record on Hawk Hill, previously held by Randy McNeill '01 (120). Rastivo now owns 127 career goals with one regular-season game plus a minimum of one postseason game remaining in his collegiate career.
HAWK LEADERS
Back-to-back Northeast Conference Player of the Week Chris Blewitt leads the squad in points (42) with 21 goals and a team-high 21 helpers while graduate student Mike Rastivo (team-high 22g, 11a) and senior midfielder Kyle Cain (15g, 14a) own over 25 points apiece; the trio has combined for 47.2 percent (58-of-123) of SJU's goals on the year. Senior midfielder Hayes McGinley (14g, 3a) turned in a hat trick last time out while rookie attackman Shane Fable has been a factor with 16 points (13g, 3a) through eight appearances to round out SJU's top-five offensive factors.
The veteran trio of senior long stick midfielder Austin Smith (4g, 5a, team-high 36 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers), senior short stick defensive midfielder Davis Stoner (6g, 3a, 35gb, team-high 13ct), and graduate student midfielder Will McNamara (6g, 5a, 35gb), who scrapped for five ground balls last time out, alongside sophomore long stick midfielder Liam Hare (17gb) have completely dominated the transition game this year in all 12 games. SJU's top face-off specialist Billy Jardeleza (66-of-135) owns a 48.9 percent showing from the X while back-to-back NEC Rookie of the Week in redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mike Adler (8-3, 5-0 NEC) has been the backbone of SJU's defensive unit with a 60.4 save percentage and 8.11 goals against average with 134 saves vs. 88 goals allowed in 650:55.
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
After dropping two of its first three to open the season with an 11-7 loss at then-#7/8 Rutgers, a 15-7 road win over Bellarmine, and a 12-11 loss to then-RV Georgetown, the Colonials won five in a row of then-#16/15 Penn State, 12-9, High Point, 16-11, then-#19/18 Marquette, 12-2, Sacred Heart, 12-8, and Mount St. Mary's, 15-5. Robert Morris then dropped a 10-7 home contest to Bryant before bouncing back with four consecutive wins against Hobart, 10-9 OT, Canisius, 11-9, Cleveland State, 14-5, and, most recently, Wagner, 15-5, last Saturday; Jimmy Perkins notched eight points to lead the Colonial offense.
Perkins (20g, team-high 26a), who leads the NEC in assists per game (2.00) and Matt Schmidt (team-high 29g, 11a) own 40+ points apiece to lead five Colonials with over 20+ points apiece. Trey Arnold owns a 42.7% clip from the X with numbers of 106-of-248 to go with a team-high 39 ground balls while Zac Christianson (31 ground balls, team-high 20 caused turnovers) disrupts on the defensive end with an NEC-best 2.38 caused turnovers per contest. Alex Heger (10-3, 4-1 NEC) owns a 60.8 save percentage and 7.65 goals against average in 768:40, all but 12:27 on the season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the seventh all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and Robert Morris. The Hawks lead the series 4-2 and are 3-2 under the direction of seventh-year head coach Taylor Wray but dropped the most recent match-up by a final score of 13-7 at home last season; then-junior attackman Chris Blewitt factored into five scoring plays with a hat trick and two assists.
All-time series results are listed below:
2017 - L – 13-7 - Home
2016 - W - 14-7 - Home (NEC Semifinals)
2016 - L - 13-8 - Away
2015 - W - 18-11 - Home
2014 - W - 11-8 - Away
2005 - W - 13-11 - Neutral (Played at Penn State)
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Also be sure to check out Sideline Photos, LLC's shots from home games vs. Fairfield, St. John's, Drexel, Bryant, and Mount St. Mary's (plus Senior Day) at PhotoShelter.com.
