WANTAGH, N.Y. – The Lincoln Memorial men's lacrosse team will make the over 700-mile trip to the Empire State to face Dominican College at Wantagh High School on Saturday. The Railsplitters (3-1) are returning to action for the first time since throttling Walsh last Saturday in Cincinnati, Ohio, while the Chargers (0-0) are gearing up for their 2018 opener.
Schedule / Game Day Links:
Saturday, February 24 vs. Dominican (1pm) –
Live Stats
Quick Hits:
- The Railsplitters rebounded from their first loss of the season in emphatic fashion by bashing Walsh 13-4 last weekend in a neutral-site contest. Lincoln Memorial outscored the Cavaliers 7-1 in the second half, including 3-0 in the third quarter, to power that victory.
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Adam Golia scored five goals and handed out an assist in last Saturday's win at Walsh to push his South Atlantic Conference-leading point total to 32. The senior also leads the league in goals (20) and assists (12), and is well on his way to obliterating the program's single-season record for both points and goals that he set last season with a 51-point, 39-goal effort.
- Saturday represents the LMU men's lacrosse program's second trip to the Northeast portion of the country. The Railsplitters traveled to Lakewood, N.J. in 2016 for a match against Georgian Court that they won 16-10.
- Lincoln Memorial is currently ranked third in the SAC in scoring with 14.0 goals per game. The Railsplitters, who lead the SAC in shots with 191 and assists with 38, have reached double figures in three of their four matches this season, including a 21-goal outburst against Palm Beach Atlantic.
- Sophomore
Hunter Clark is having a quietly solid season so far. He leads the team with 16 groundball recoveries and is also 24-for-40 on face-off attempts.
Josh Hernandez,
Kyle Fleck and
Will Britt are second on the team with 13 groundballs apiece, while
Kyle Arcuri has added 11 to go along with nine goals and six assists.
- Freshman
Michael Kessler has played the bulk of the minutes in goal for the Railsplitters, appearing in all four matches with three starts under his belt. Over 136 minutes of work, Kessler has compiled a 12.35 goals against average with a 45.1 save percentage.
- The Railsplitters are vying for their second consecutive 4-1 start and the second 4-1 mark in program history. A win would also push Lincoln Memorial halfway to its win total from the 2017 campaign.
- Thirteen different players have produced at least two points for the Railsplitters this season. Golia and Arcuri have combined for 47 of the team's 94 points, while
Dylan Neisler,
Anthony Teresky and
Robert Tucker have six apiece.
- Saturday will be a homecoming for a faction of the Railsplitters, as
Robert Tucker,
Anthony Teresky,
Michael Kessler,
Richie Russo and
Chris Tucker all hail from Wantagh, N.Y.
Know the Opponent:
- Dominican is set to open its 2018 season with hopes of building upon a 6-9 mark last season. The Chargers finished tied for last in the East Coast Conference with a 1-7 league record. The team ended the season with losses in seven of its last 10 matches.
- Dominican is beginning its first season competing in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), which welcomed men's lacrosse as a sponsored sport prior to the 2018 season.
- The Chargers will be led offensively into the 2018 season by sophomore attacker Nick D'Alessandro, who compiled 24 goals and 23 assists in his collegiate debut. Michael Reyes and Evan Heegan are also back after putting up 24 and 22 points, respectively, last season.
- Dominican also welcomes back senior goalie Matthew Sandelier, who compiled an 11.6 goals against average and a 51.4 save percentage over 547 minutes of action last season.
- The Chargers had one of the worst scoring defenses in the country in 2017, ranking 48th out of 58 teams with 12.13 goals per game allowed. Dominican was even worse offensively, ranking 54th out of 58 teams with 8.67 goals per game.
- Saturday will serve as the first-ever meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Dominican.
- Dominican was not great with clearances last season, either, ranking 53rd out of 58 team in clearing percentage with a 77 percent mark.
