University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Lacrosse To Face No. 5 Georgetown
April 20, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
April 20, 2000
GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
SATURDAY'S GAME: The Minutemen will look to win their second straight game against Georgetown, while also attempting to hand the Hoyas their first ECAC loss of the season. The teams have played five common opponents this season, with Georgetown posting a 5-0 mark in those games and UMass going 2-3. Both schools defeated Butler and Stony Brook, while the Minutemen lost to Navy, Penn State and UMBC.
UMASS-GEORGETOWN SERIES: This will be the first ever meeting between the Minutemen and the Hoyas on the lacrosse field. The teams will meet every season from now on, as both are members of the new ECAC Lacrosse League.
GABRIELLI IMPRESSIVE ON OFFENSE: Junior midfielder Keith Gabrielli (Farmingdale, N.Y.) has turned in some of the top offensive performances of his career over the last two weeks. In the win over Harvard, Gabrielli scored two goals and assisted on one other. Both of his goals against the Crimson came when the Minutemen were a man up, making him the first UMass player this season to score two extra-man goals in a single game. In the previous game against Loyola, Gabrielli recorded a career-best four assists to go along with one goal for a career-high five points. The four assists are the most by a Minuteman since the 1995 season, when Mike Valente recorded four assists against Duke. Gabrielli previously totaled two goals and an assist against UMBC, while recording a goal and two assists against both Hofstra and Vermont. On the season, Gabrielli now ranks third on the team in scoring with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. In addition, his 22 career assists are the most of any active UMass player.
JANOWICZ SCORES KEY GOALS AGAINST HARVARD: Senior attackman Mike Janowicz (Upper Arlington, Ohio) scored a pair of huge goals during the 10-9 victory over 13th-ranked Harvard on Wednesday. With the Crimson leading 9-8 late in the third quarter, Janowicz scored his first goal at the 1:39 mark to tie up the scored heading into the final period. He then scored the game-winning goal, and the only goal of the fourth quarter, with 14:34 remaining to secure the victory. With his performance against Harvard, Janowicz has now scored two goals in a game three times this season. On the year, he is now tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 11 points on nine goals and two assists.
RACIOPPI AND LEVEILLE STEP UP ON OFFENSE: Junior midfielder Alex Racioppi (Winchester, Mass.) and freshman attackman Kevin Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) have both turned in impressive performances on offense over the last two games. Against Loyola last Saturday, Racioppi scored a team-high three goals for the Minutemen, the highest single-game total of his career. He then came back to score two goals in the victory over Harvard on Wednesday. Leveille recorded two goals and an assist against Loyola, marking the first time in his career he has scored more than one goal in a game. He then added another goal in the win over Harvard. On the season, Racioppi now stands sixth on the team in scoring with 11 points on nine goals and two assists, while Leveille ranks ninth with eight points on four goals and four assists.
GUSKI KEEPS ON SCORING: Junior midfielder Jeremy Guski (Mahopac, N.Y.) had one of his top games of the season in Wednesday's victory over Harvard. He scored a pair of goals against the Crimson, while assisting on one other. That performance marked the second time this season Guski has scored more than one goal in a game, as he previously had two goals and two assists against Stony Brook. In addition, he totaled one goal and one assist in the games against Hofstra, Vermont, Butler and Loyola. Guski currently ranks fifth on the team in scoring with 17 points on eight goals and nine assists.
MCFARLAND HAVING SOLID SEASON: Sophomore defender Matt McFarland (Garden City, N.Y.) is making himself known as one of the top defensive players in the nation. McFarland often checks the opposing team's top offensive threat, and is a big reason why UMass has a team goals against average of 8.96 on the year. He also leads the team in ground balls, with 54 through the first 10 games of the season. Last summer, McFarland played on the United States Under-19 lacrosse team, which won the 1999 world championship in Australia. He is the first Minuteman to ever play on the national under-19 team.
SEALS DOMINANT ON FACEOFFS: Junior midfielder Jeff Seals (Long Valley, N.J.), who has taken the majority of the faceoffs for the Minutemen, is off to an outstanding start this season. Seals has won 110 of the 173 faceoffs he has taken on the year, good for a percentage of 63.6. He was particularly dominant during the late part of March, winning 16 of 22 faceoffs against Vermont, 17 of 24 against Butler and 14 of 19 at Boston College. Seals, who missed the 1999 season as a medical redshirt, has now won 165 of 272 faceoffs (60.7) during his UMass career.
MINUTEMEN AMONG NCAA STAT LEADERS: Two UMass players are currently ranked among the best in the nation in individual statistical categories, through games of April 16. Junior Jeff Seals stands fourth in face-off winning percentage (63.6), while both Seals and sophomore Matt McFarland are tied for 16th in groundballs (5.67 per game). As a team, UMass stands fifth nationally in face-off winning percentage (60.2) and 20th in man-advantage offense (32.2 percent).
MADIGAN AMONG TOP SCORERS: Junior attackman John Madigan (Latham, N.Y.) has turned in some outstanding performances over the last few weeks. At Loyola, he scored a pair of goals for the Minutemen, while also recording one assist. Against UMBC, Madigan netted two goals in addition to dishing out one assist. The previous week he scored a pair of goals at Penn State, while recording a career-best six points on three goals and three assists at Boston College. Madigan began his current hot streak against Butler, scoring three goals in the 12-9 win. He has now scored three goals in a game six times during his UMass career. Madigan also ranks second on the team lead in both goals scored (16) and points (23). A year ago, Madigan led UMass in scoring with 31 points, while ranking second in goals with 20. He now has 47 goals and 20 assists for 67 points during his UMass career, and is the top active career scorer on the team.
KUNKEL STAYS HOT: Junior attackman Rich Kunkel (Centereach, N.Y.) has been one of the top offensive threats for the Minutemen all season. Against Boston College, Kunkel scored six goals, with four of them coming during a 7-0 UMass run in the first 7:11 of the game. His six goals against the Eagles tied the career-high he set against Fairfield last year, and are the most by a Minuteman in a single game this season. Kunkel also recorded two goals and two assists at Penn State, and then totaled three goals and an assist against UMBC. He also had big games against Vermont (three goals and one assist), Hofstra (two goals and one assist) and Stony Brook (two goals and one assist). Kunkel currently leads the team in scoring with 27 points on 19 goals and eight assists.
DOUBLE DIGIT MAGIC: The double-digit mark has been a key one for the Minutemen on both offense and defense since the beginning of the 1990 season. UMass has a 68-13 (.840) record in games when it holds the opponent under 10 goals since 1990. The Minutemen also have a 69-16 record (.812) in games where they score 10 or more goals.
CAMPY STRONG IN THE CAGE: Junior goaltender Chris Campolettano (Massapequa, N.Y.) is having another impressive season in his second year as the starter. Campolettano has played all but 28 minutes in goal this year, making 105 saves while allowing only 87 goals. His top games so far this season have come against Butler and Navy, with a season-high 15 saves in each contest. Campolettano also had 14 saves against Penn State, while making 13 stops against UMBC. He currently owns a goals against average of 9.08 on the season, with a save percentage of 54.7. Last season, Campolettano finished the year with the sixth best goals against average in the country (8.04), while ranking 12th in save percentage (61.2).
HARVARD RECAP: Keith Gabrielli and Jeremy Guski both had two goals and one assist, to lead UMass to a 10-9 victory over 13th-ranked Harvard at Richard F. Garber Field on Apr. 19. The Minutemen jumped out to an early 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter, but Harvard then stormed back to take a 5-3 lead, scoring five straight goals late in the first and early in the second period. UMass would tie up the score at 5-5, then the teams began trading goals with the Crimson taking a 7-6 lead into the intermission. UMass dominated play early in the third quarter, taking an 8-7 lead before Harvard scored twice late in the period to regain the lead at 9-8. Mike Janowicz then scored the final two goals of the game to secure the win for the Minutemen.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN: The Hoyas enter the game ranked fifth in the nation, with an overall record of 9-1 and a 5-0 mark in the ECAC. Georgetown is currently on a three-game winning streak, since suffering its only loss of the season at Duke, 13-12. Senior attackman Andy Flick leads the team in scoring with 49 points on 26 goals and 23 assists, while also picking up 24 groundballs. Senior attackman Peter Velepec has scored 36 points this season on 20 goals and 16 assists, while senior attackman Scott Urick has totaled 35 points on 28 goals and seven assists. Sophomore Scott Schroeder has started every game of the season in goal for the Hoyas, posting an 8.45 goals against average with a 61.1 save percentage.
THREE'S COMPANY: During the victory over Butler, both John Madigan and sophomore midfielder Marc Morley (Canton, N.Y.) scored three goals for the Minutemen. That marked the first time since last year's season opening win over Holy Cross that more than one UMass player has scored three goals in a single game. In that 19-4 victory over Holy Cross last season, Jeremy Guski, Rich Kunkel and Madigan found the net three times each.
NO LONGER IN A LEAGUE OF IT'S OWN: After 46 years playing as an Independent, the Minutemen have joined the newly-formed ECAC Lacrosse League. Other founding members of the seven-team league are Georgetown, Navy, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), Penn State, Rutgers and Stony Brook. The league champion will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
TOUGH AGAIN: For the second straight season, Face-Off College Lacrosse Yearbook has ranked the UMass schedule as one of the toughest in the nation. The Minutemen face two 1999 final four squads (Syracuse, Georgetown) and six NCAA tournament participants this spring.
HEAD COACH GREG CANNELLA: UMass head coach Greg Cannella is in his sixth season at the helm of the Minuteman lacrosse program. Cannella has recorded a 39-34 mark in his tenure and led UMass to its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual national champion Princeton. Prior to being named head coach, Cannella served as an assistant to Ted Garber at UMass for two seasons. Cannella also played at UMass in 1986 and 1987 for Hall of Famer Dick Garber.
SHORT STICKS: Freshman midfielder Kevin Merchant (Broomall, Pa.) took the majority of the faceoffs for UMass in the win over Harvard, with Jeff Seals out due to injury. Merchant had an outstanding game against the Crimson, winning 13 out of 22 faceoffs ... Junior Rich Kunkel finished 1999 with the best shooting percentage on the team. Kunkel had a team-leading 22 goals on 56 shots (39.3). He has been just as effective this season, scoring 19 goals on 49 shots (38.8) ... UMass has had just six losing seasons in the 46-year history of the program. Three of those seasons came in the first 11 years after the sport was granted varsity status in 1954.
