University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Travels To No. 2 Syracuse On Saturday
April 27, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
April 27, 2000
GAMEDAY QUICK FACTS
TODAY'S GAME: The Minutemen will face a ranked opponent for the fifth-straight game when they face No. 2 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. The teams have faced only one common opponent so far this season, Loyola. The Orangemen posted a 16-9 come-from-behind victory over the Greyhounds on Apr. 7, while the Minutemen suffered a 21-10 loss at Loyola on Apr. 15.
UMASS-SYRACUSE SERIES: Today's game will mark the 26th meeting between UMass and Syracuse. The Orangemen lead the all-time series, which began in 1976, 21-4. Syracuse has won 19 straight in the series. UMass' last win came in the 1981 season, a 12-8 decision in Amherst.
RACIOPPI SCORES SEVEN AT GEORGETOWN: Junior midfielder Alex Racioppi (Winchester, Mass.) has turned in some of the top performances of his career over the last three games. At Georgetown last Saturday, Racioppi scored a career-high seven goals for the Minutemen in the narrow 19-18 loss. The seven goals scored are the most by a Minuteman in a single game since Brendan Glass found the net seven times in a 10-9 victory over Notre Dame on Apr. 22, 1995. Racioppi's seven goals are also the second-highest single game total in the nation this season, and the most any player has scored against a ranked opponent. Previously, Racioppi scored two goals in the 10-9 victory over Harvard. Following his performances against the Hoyas and the Crimson, Racioppi was honored as both the ECAC Player of the Week and the WHMP / UMass Athlete of the Week. Racioppi also scored three goals at Loyola two weeks ago, giving his 12 goals in the last three games. On the season, Racioppi now stands fourth on the team in scoring with 18 points on 16 goals and two assists.
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 few weeks. Last Saturday at Georgetown, he recorded a team-best three assists. In the previous game against 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. Previously 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 22 points on eight goals and 14 assists. In addition, his 25 career assists are the most of any active UMass player.
LEVEILLE STEPPING UP ON OFFENSE: Freshman attackman Kevin Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) has turned in some impressive performances on offense over the last three games. 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. Last Saturday against Georgetown, Leveille scored two goals for the second time this season. On the season, Leveille ranks ninth with 10 points on six goals and four assists.
JANOWICZ GETS HOT: Senior attackman Mike Janowicz (Upper Arlington, Ohio) is coming off a pair of huge games last week. He scored two goals in the 10-9 victory over 13th-ranked Harvard, both of them coming at key moments. 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. Janowicz then came back to score three more goals against fifth-ranked Georgetown last Saturday. Following those two performances, Janowicz now ranks fourth on the team in goals scored with 12, while also adding two assists for 14 points.
KUNKEL ON TOP: 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), Stony Brook (two goals and one assist) and Georgetown (two goals). Kunkel currently leads the team in scoring with 29 points on 21 goals and eight assists.
THE PLAYMAKER: Junior attackman Kevin Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y.), who missed the UMBC and Loyola games due to injury, came back with a solid performance against Georgetown last Saturday. Dell scored a pair of goals and assisted on one other against the Hoyas, with one of his goals coming in the final minutes of the game to tie the score at 18-18. He also had a big game earlier in the season against Vermont, totaling a goal and three assists. In addition, Dell totaled two goals and one assist against Stony Brook. Dell is currently tied for seventh on the team in scoring with 14 points on seven goals and seven 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 9.86 on the year. He is also tied for the team lead in ground balls, with 59 through the first 11 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 129 of the 202 faceoffs he has taken on the year, good for a percentage of 63.9. Some of his top games this season have been against Georgetown (19 of 29), Butler (17 of 24), Vermont (16 of 22) and Boston College (14 of 19). Seals, who missed the 1999 season as a medical redshirt, has now won 184 of 301 faceoffs (61.1) during his UMass career.
GUSKI KEEPS ON SCORING: Junior midfielder Jeremy Guski (Mahopac, N.Y.) had one of his top games of the season in the 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 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists.
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 second in face-off winning percentage (63.9), while both Seals ranks 15th in groundballs (5.90 per game) and junior Matt McFarland stands 20th (5.36). As a team, UMass stands fourth nationally in faceoff winning percentage (61.0), 19th in scoring offense (11.27 goals per game) and 20th in man-advantage offense (32.4 percent).
MADIGAN AMONG TOP SCORERS: Junior attackman John Madigan (Latham, N.Y.) has turned in some outstanding offensive performances for the Minutemen this season. 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 (17) and points (24). A year ago, Madigan led UMass in scoring with 31 points, while ranking second in goals with 20. He now has 48 goals and 20 assists for 68 points during his UMass career, and is the top active career scorer on the team.
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 69-17 record (.802) 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 125 saves while allowing only 106 goals. Last week at Georgetown, Campolettano set a new career-high with 20 saves. Some of his other top games this season came against Butler and Navy, with 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 10.02 on the season, with a save percentage of 54.1. 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).
GEORGETOWN RECAP: Alex Racioppi scored a career-high seven goals, but it was not enough as the Minutemen dropped a close 19-18 decision to No. 5 Georgetown. UMass started the game on fire, jumping out to an early 5-2 advantage, but the lead would see-saw back and forth throughout the game. The Hoyas held an 18-16 lead late in the fourth quarter, before goals from Kevin Leveille and Kevin Dell tied up the score. But the comeback attempt by the Minutemen came up just short, with Georgetown's Mike Henehan scoring the game winner in the final minute. Mike Janowicz scored three goals in the game for UMass, with Keith Gabrielli adding three assists.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE: The Orangemen enter the game ranked second in the nation, with an overall record of 10-1. Syracuse is currently on a three-game winning streak, since suffering its only loss of the season at Cornell, 13-12. Senior attackman Ryan Powell leads the team in scoring with 68 points on 29 goals and 39 assists, while also picking up 40 groundballs. Sophomore midfielder Michael Springer has totaled 44 points on 34 goals and 10 assists, while sophomore attackman Liam Banks has 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points. Junior Rob Mulligan has started every game in goal for the Orangemen, posting a 7.10 goals against average with a .650 save percentage.
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 39-35 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: UMass' 18 goals scored last week are the most allowed by Georgetown all season, with the previous high of 13 being scored by Duke. In addition, the 18 goals are the most ever scored by the Minutemen in a loss ... Freshman midfielder Kevin Merchant (Broomall, Pa.) has seen an increased role backing up Jeff Seals on faceoffs. Over the last two games, Merchant has won 21 out of 33 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 21 goals on 52 shots (40.4).
