Men's Lacrosse to Participate in USCAA Classic (4/23-2/24)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
THE LEAD
The University of Dallas men's lacrosse team has been invited to participate in the inaugural United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Classic hosted by SUNY Canton on April 23-24.
Dallas joins three other programs in competing this weekend. The Crusaders open at 4 p.m. (EST) versus Alfred State University. The other two participants are SUNY Canton and SUNY Delhi. The winners of Friday will play each other Saturday, and the same for the loser's bracket. However, due to travel arrangements, Dallas will play at 9 a.m. (EST) regardless of the previous result.
The Crusaders are 3-15 this season, with two of their victories coming on the road. Dallas has dropped four in a row, with a 17-2 setback in the latest decision last Saturday to Colorado College.
CRUSADER NOTES
- Dallas ranks in the top ten in NCAA Division III for saves (2nd) and saves per game (5th).
- Senior Ryan Murphy (Yorba Linda, Calif.) is responsible for both of those rankings, serving the majority of the spring as the UD goalkeeper.
- For the campaign, Murphy has logged 257 saves, a 54.9 save percentage, and faced 677 shots through 898:44 minutes. The program's record holder in career saves enters the weekend with 696.
- Offensively, freshman Peter Early (San Antonio, Texas) leads the way with 18 goals and 28 points. Early posted a combined four points the past two games, with a pair coming from assists.
- Senior Alex Ziolkowski (Ann Arbor, Mich.) follows closely behind with 16 goals and 26 points. Ziolkowsi scored in each of the contests on the past home stand and is on a seven-game point streak.
- The leading point tandem of Early and Ziolkowski are tied for the team-lead with 10 assists.
- Senior Matthew Cyr (St. Louis, Mo.) ranks third with 18 points and rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11 goals.
- Freshman Ben Blessard (Falls Church, Va.) completes the unit of Crusaders in double figures on the season for points with 11. He has found the back of the net nine times.
A LOOK AT THE OPPOSITION
The Pioneers are 3-10 this season and have not won on the road, going 0-7 with one of the setbacks being on neutral turf. Alfred State fell 17-10 last Saturday to SUNY Canton. The Pioneers did defeat lone common opponent to UD this spring; Franciscan University by a 10-9 overtime decision.
Two individuals on the squad have compiled 51 of ASU's 91 goals. Aaron Buck leads the team with 27 points and Joe Johnson has contributed 24. Buck is also the team leader with 44 points. Johnson and Patrick Matkoski have respectively posted 29 and 20. Buck has dished 17 assists and Matkoski has added 14. Ryan Amidon is the main goalkeeper, having logged 721:27 minutes and picked up 172 saves.
(ALFRED STATE UNIVERSITY SEASON STATS)
SUNY Canton is the host school for the USCAA Classic. The Kangaroos reflect a 5-6 and are 4-2 at the friendly confines this spring. The first contest of the Classic features SUNY Canton and SUNY-Delhi at 1 p.m.
Trenton Yule leads the squad with 26 goals and has posted 30 points. Kyle Smith has accumulated 43 points off the strength of a team-high 26 assists. Smith matches Chris Gamble with 17 goals for second on the team. Skye Sunday caps off the double-digit scoring group with 16. Kody Kocsis has made 119 saves in 429:53 minutes in the cage, while Andrew Fiske has nabbed 51 through 230:07 minutes.
SUNY Delhi is 5-7 this season and have gone 3-6 away from home. The Broncos have dropped the past two matches, despite scoring 11 goals in both setbacks. The finals were 12-11 and 15-11, respectively. Prior to those, SUNY Delhi won four straight.
The Broncos have broken double figures in eight contests this year and are 5-3 in such matches. They have allowed at least 11 goals in all seven losses.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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