PREVIEW: Men's Lacrosse at Huntingdon College (3/19)
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THE LEAD
The University of Dallas men's lacrosse team are set to play its lone road match of March this Sunday at 1 p.m. against Huntingdon College. The Crusaders are 2-5 and have enjoyed the past 10 days without a match. The most recent game was a 10-5 setback versus University of Northwestern (MN). Dallas last played away from home to close February out on the final day of the month. It was one-of-two UD victories this year in an 8-5 result at Dallas Baptist University.
UD NOTES
- Peter Early (San Antonio, Texas) is heating up with team-highs in goals (12), assists (6), and points (18). Last year's leading scorer has notched a goal in the past four matches and a point in the past five.
- Ben Blessard (Falls Church, Va.) follows second on the team in goals (7) and points (11). His total points at this juncture match his amount from his freshman year.
- Tyler Smith (Snoqualmie, Wash.) has matched five scores with as many assists to be the third member of the trio in double-digits for points (10). Smith has etched a point in the last five games.
- The top trio in points listed above have amassed one in six matches. The lone game all of them are missing was at Millsaps College (Feb. 19).
- Smith is 51-for-95 (53.7%) in the faceoff circle and is the team leader for groundballs with 46.
- Christian Lopez (Las Vegas, Nev.) has secured 116 saves through 420 minutes between the pipes.
- Dallas recently added Michael Kerner (Stevensville, Md.) and Eddison Ramos (Prosper, Texas) who each played during the last home stretch. Kerner returns after playing in 2016 during his freshman year and Ramos is a dual men's soccer player that debuted in the most recent outing.
SCOUTING HUNTINGDON COLLEGE
- The Hawks are 5-6 on the season and coming off a 13-9 loss at Birmingham Southern this past Thursday.
- They have dropped the last two matches since prevailing by a one-goal (9-8) margin against Randolph on a neutral site hosted by Oglethorpe University.
- Huntingdon is 3-2 at home.
- Two players have accumulated 17 goals in Kendrick Ballard and Brandon Scheele. Ballard has a two assists to give him 19 points, which is tied second on the squad.
- The team leader in points (20) is Karson Hastings thanks to 17 dimes.
- Austen Saucier (13), Miles Stading (13), Caleb Bohrer (11), and Mac Puller (10) are the other top scorers to watch.
- Sam Hitt has gained possession of a lot of balls down with 66 groundballs. He has won 146 faceoffs.
- Matt Murphy sees most of the playing time in goal with 577:07 minutes in 11 starts. He has 120 saves and a 9.67 goals allowed average (GAA).
PREVIOUS MEETING
- Dallas is 0-3 all-time against the Hawks.
- The most recent matchup was in Irving last season. Huntingdon won 17-2.
- Early had one of the two goals for UD and attempted four shots.
- Scheele notched three goals for a hat trick and Puller added a pair out of the returners that were top scorers in that match.
UP NEXT
Dallas spends the last weekend of the month at the friendly confines to conclude the home portion of the spring. On March 24, Calvin College makes a visit for a 4 p.m. start. On Mar. 26, the Crusaders will recognize three players for Senior Day prior to facing off against Piedmont College at 1 p.m.