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Men's Lacrosse to Face Top-Seeded Robert Morris in Northeast Conference Semifinals on Friday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount St. Mary's (6-8) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| Robert Morris (11-4) | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Robert Morris |
|---|---|
| G: Andrew Scalley - 4 | G: 2 Players (#1, #46 - 4) |
| A: Daniel Stranix - 2 | A: BUCHANAN, Kyle - 4 |
| Sv: Chris Klaiber - 11 | Sv: BUKOVAC, Matt - 10 |
| GB: Jon Marsalese - 9 | GB: 2 Players (#19, #35 - 6) |
| Team Statistics | Mount St. Mary's | Robert Morris |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 41 | 44 |
| Ground Balls | 29 | 33 |
| Saves | 11 | 14 |
| Clears | 9-13 | 13-13 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 9 |
| Face Offs Won | 21 | 14 |
| Man Up | 0-1 | 1-1 |
#4 Mount St. Mary's (5-8, 2-3 NEC) at #1 Robert Morris (11-3, 5-0 NEC)
Northeast Conference Semifinals
Friday, May 4, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
Joe Walton Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO STREAM | OFFICIAL NEC TOURNAMENT PAGE | GAME NOTES
MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's clinched the fourth and final spot in the Northeast Conference Tournament with a 16-7 win at Wagner on Saturday. The Mount scored four goals in the opening five minutes of the game to take control. Brett Schmidt led the way with three goals and three assists while Andrew Scalley added two goals and three helpers. Bryant Schmidt (3g, 1a) and Anthony Golden (3g) also chipped in hat tricks in the victory. In goal, Chris Klaiber made six saves in 52:05 of playing time to earn the victory. The Mount held a 50-24 advantage in shots, including a 31-to-10 margin in the first half. Head coach
ABOUT THE COLONIALS: Robert Morris defeated No. 19 Bryant, 13-12, to clinch the Northeast Conference regular season title this past Saturday. The Colonials (11-3) finished NEC play with a perfect 5-0 record and earned the right to host this year's championship. Robert Morris rallied from a three-goal deficit and then hung on for the one-goal victory over Bryant. The Colonials have won six consecutive games, tying the longest win streak in program history. Leading the nation in goals per game (14.29), the Colonials have nine players with 15 or more points this season. Jake Hayes (40g, 18a) and Kiel Matisz (36g, 22a) lead the high-scoring offense with 58 points each. Dave Morton is third on the squad with 27 goals and 18 assists for 45 points. Robert Morris has had four different goalkeepers play this season. Matt Bukovac has started the most games (six) and has a 13.59 goals against average and a .487 save percentage.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series with Robert Morris that began in 2005. The Colonials, however, posted a 17-14 win over the Mount earlier this season at Joe Walton Stadium. The Mount is 1-1 all-time at Robert Morris, winning 19-13 in 2010 before this year's matchup. The series has been a high-scoring one as the Mount is averaging 15.8 goals all-time against Robert Morris while the Colonials are averaging 11.5.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: Robert Morris defeated the Mount, 17-14, on April 14, at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa. Andrew Scalley paced the Mount with four goals and an assist in the loss. Brett Schmidt chipped in six points on two goals and four assists while Bryant Schmidt added a hat trick. Dave Morton paced Robert Morris with three goals and three assists as 10 different Colonials scored in the contest. Jake Hayes added three goals and an assist while Kiel Matisz and Kyle Buchanan each added two goals and an assist in the victory. Robert Morris scored four unanswered goals in the first half to break open a one-goal game. The Colonials stretched the lead to 17-9 before the Mount fired in five goals over the final 7:20 of the game. Click HERE for a full recap.
THE MOUNT AND THE NEC TOURNAMENT: The Mount won the inaugural Northeast Conference title last season with a 14-9 win over Quinnipiac at the Mount's Waldron Family Stadium. The Mount was the No. 1 seed in the tournament and defeated Bryant, 14-9, in the semifinals. Mount goalkeeper T.C. DiBartolo made 14 saves in the championship game to earn MVP honors. Andrew Scalley, who was the MAAC Tournament MVP in 2010, matched his career high of five goals in the title game to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Brett Schmidt added three goals and three assists in the win while twin brother Bryant Schmidt added a hat trick in the victory to also earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.
LOOKING FOR A THREE-PEAT: The Mount is looking to win a conference championship for the third season in a row. In 2010, the Mount defeated Siena, 7-6, in the championship game in the team's final season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Last year, the Mount posted a 14-9 win over Quinnipiac in the inaugural season for the Northeast Conference.
SCALLEY PICKING UP ON OFFENSE: Junior Andrew Scalley has picked up his offense of late, posting 16 goals and 15 assists over the past seven games. Scalley is averaging 4.43 points over that stretch and is tied for the team lead with 44 points (23g, 21a). Earlier this season Scalley saw his streak of 37 consecutive games with at least one point snapped against Drexel on March 17. He has recorded at least one point in 44 of 45 career games played and he is 13th all-time at the Mount in career points (145) and goals (93).
BRYANT SCHMIDT FINDING THE NET: Midfielder Bryant Schmidt leads the Mount with 28 goals this season. The senior has a team-best six hat tricks this season and leads twin brother Brett by two goals in the team goal scoring race. He has scored 18 goals over the past six games, including three in the 16-7 win over Wagner on Saturday. Bryant is now 25th all-time at the Mount with 68 career goals and needs one points to become the 24th player in school history to reach 100 career points.
100-POINT SCORERS: The Mount has three players with 100 career points in Andrew Scalley (145, 13th all-time at MSM), Brett Schmidt (132, 17th all-time as MSM) and Cody Lehrer (124, 18th all-time at MSM). It is the first time in school history that the Mount has had three players all with 100 or more career points. Bryant Schmidt is one point shy of making it a quartet of 100-point scorers on the roster as he is tied for 24th on the all-time list at the Mount with 99 points.
SCHMIDT'S GOAL SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: Senior attack Brett Schmidt has scored at least one goal in each of his past 26 games, the third longest streak in the country. Schmidt is second on the team with 26 goals and is tied with Andrew Scalley for the top spot with 44 points. Schmidt has recorded six or more points in a game three times this year, including a three-goal, three-assist performance in the 16-7 win at Wagner this past Saturday.
GRAVANTE BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS: Head coach Tom Gravante is beginning his 17th season on the Mount sidelines. Gravante has been named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons. He has guided the Mount to the NCAA Tournament in both 2003 and 2010 and he was named the MAAC Coach of the Year on four occasions. Gravante broke former Mount coach Randy Kilgore's school record for career wins with his 121st career victory in the Mount's 16-7 win at Wagner.
HAT TRICKS: The Mount had three different players (Brett Schmidt, Bryant Schmidt, Anthony Golden) record hat tricks in the 16-7 win over Wagner on Saturday. It was the second time this season the Mount has had three hat tricks in the same game. The other time was a 15-6 win at Michigan as Brett Schmidt, Bryant Schmidt and Christian Kellett each scored three times in the game.
MORE HAT TRICKS: Brett and Bryant Schmidt each had three goals in the Mount's win at Wagner, marking the fourth time in their career that the twins have recorded hat tricks in the same game. The other times came against Michigan (March 24) and VMI (March 10) this year and against Quinnipiac in the NEC Championship game on May 8 last year.
HAT TRICKS (PART 3): The Mount has had 10 different players on the roster post a hat trick in their Mount career. Cody Lehrer, who is redshirting this season, leads the list with 16 career hat tricks, followed by Andrew Scalley (15) and Brett Schmidt (11). The rest of the list includes Byrant Schmidt (8), Jake Willertz (3), Christian Kellett (3), Mike Adkins (2), Eric Ososki (2), Anthony Golden (2) and Daniel Stranix (1).
QUICK STRIKES: The Mount scored three goals in a span of 16 seconds in the victory over VMI on March 10. After VMI scored to cut the lead to 9-3 with 13:22 left in the fourth quarter, Brett Schmidt scored just nine seconds later to give the Mount a 10-3 lead with 13:13 on the clock. Robert Owen added to the lead nine seconds later (13:04) while Schmidt made it three goals in 16 seconds when he scored to give the Mount a 12-3 lead with 12:57 left in the fourth.
KELLETT FITS IN: Senior Christian Kellett has tallied 14 goals and 10 assists over the past 10 games since being inserted into the starting lineup on attack. Kellett has posted a pair of hat tricks this year and a six-point game (2g, 4a) against VMI.
THE MOUNT vs. RANKED OPPONENTS: Mount St. Mary's is 3-47 all-time against ranked opponents since moving to NCAA Division I in 1988-89, including a 1-4 mark this year. The Mount defeated No. 16 Delaware, 12-10, on Feb. 25 to open the season. All three wins over ranked opponents have come since 2010 with the Mount defeating No. 10 Lafayette (14-12) and No. 19 Robert Morris (19-13) in 2010.
WEEKLY HONORS: Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Klaiber and freshman midfielder Braedon Graham each earned weekly honors from the Northeast Conference on Feb. 27. Klaiber was named the Defensive Player of the Week after making 13 saves in the Mount's 12-10 win over No. 16 Delaware. Graham's first collegiate goal in that game helped him earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors.
WEEKLY HONORS PART 2: Andrew Scalley was named the Nortehast Conference Offensive Player of the Week on March 26 after posting a career-high seven points in the Mount's 15-6 win at Michigan on Saturday. Scalley rebounded in strong fashion in his first game after being held off the scoresheet for the first time in his career. The junior attack scored two goals and dished out five assists in his seven-point day to lead the Mount offense in the victory. Scalley has recorded at least one point in 38 of 39 career games played.
SITTING OUT: Three seniors are redshirting for the Mount this season. Attack Cody Lehrer, midfielder Eric Ososki and long stick midfielder Mark Burns will each sit out the 2012 season. Lehrer has 96 goals and 28 assists for 124 career points in 47 games at the Mount. He had 33 goals and 10 assists last year, finishing third on the team with 43 points. Ososki has tallied 28 goals and 17 assists for 45 points in 35 games at the Mount while Burns has six goals and three assists while picking up 69 ground balls in 37 career games.
THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: The Northeast Conference begins its second season sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2012. The six schools include the Mount, Bryant, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner. The league does not get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament until 2013. Monmouth announced it is adding men's lacrosse and will become the league's seventh member.
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