University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Faces Rutgers In ECAC Finale
May 01, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
May 1, 2000
GAMEDAY QUICK FACTS
TODAY'S GAME: The Minutemen will return home for their final two games of the season, beginning with the ECAC finale against Rutgers. The winner of the game will finish in fifth place in the conference standings, and could move up to a tie for fourth if Penn State falls at Stony Brook on Saturday.
UMASS-RUTGERS SERIES: Today's game will mark the 18th meeting between UMass and Rutgers. The Minutemen lead the all-time series, which began in 1977, 11-6. The schools have not met since the 1994 season, when UMass posted a 12-9 victory in New Brunswick. The Minutemen have won the last eight meetings in the series, with the last victory by the Scarlet Knights coming in 1986 by a 7-4 score. Rutgers has not won in Amherst since the 1985 season, when it posted a 12-9 win at Garber Field..
LEVEILLE STEPPING UP ON OFFENSE: Freshman attackman Kevin Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) has turned in some impressive performances on offense over the last four 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. Against Georgetown, Leveille scored two goals for the second time this season. Finally, in Saturday's game at Syracuse, he led the team in scoring with two goals and one assist. Over the last four games, Leveille has now totaled seven goals and two assists. On the season, he ranks ninth with 13 points on eight goals and five assists.
RACIOPPI REMAINS A TOP SCORING THREAT: Junior midfielder Alex Racioppi (Winchester, Mass.) has turned in some of the top performances of his career over the last four games. At Syracuse on Saturday, he scored two goals for his fourth-straight multi-goal game. A week earlier at Georgetown, 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 win 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 on Apr. 15, giving him 14 goals in the last four games. On the season, he now stands fourth on the team in scoring with 20 points on 18 goals and two assists.
GUSKI KEEPS ON SCORING: Junior midfielder Jeremy Guski (Mahopac, N.Y.) had one of his top games of the season in the win over Harvard. He scored a pair of goals against the Crimson, while assisting on one other. That contest marked the second time this year Guski has scored more than one goal in a game, as he also had two goals and two assists at Stony Brook. In addition, he totaled one goal and one assist in the games against Hofstra, Vermont, Butler, Loyola and Syracuse. Guski is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 20 points on nine goals and 11 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. At Syracuse, he turned in another solid performance with one goal and one assist. A week earlier at Georgetown, he recorded a team-high 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 also totaled two goals and an assist against UMBC, while recording a goal and two assists against both Hofstra and Vermont. On the season, Gabrielli ranks third on the team in scoring with 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists. In addition, his 26 career assists are the most of any active Minuteman.
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 also had a big game at 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 (18) and points (26). A year ago, Madigan led UMass in scoring with 31 points, while ranking second in goals with 20. He now has 49 goals and 21 assists for 70 points during his UMass career, and is the top active career scorer on the team.
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 10.46 on the year. He also leads the team in ground balls, with 65 through the first 12 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.
JANOWICZ GETS HOT: Senior attackman Mike Janowicz (Upper Arlington, Ohio) had two huge games against Harvard and Georgetown. 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 came back to score three more goals against fifth-ranked Georgetown in the next game. Following those two performances, Janowicz now ranks fourth on the team in goals scored with 12, while also adding two assists for 14 points.
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 132 of the 219 faceoffs he has taken on the year, good for a percentage of 60.3. 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 187 of 318 faceoffs (58.8) during his UMass career.
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 30 points on 21 goals and nine assists.
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 33 minutes in goal this year, making 139 saves while allowing only 122 goals. At Georgetown on Apr. 22, 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 10.61 on the season, with a save percentage of 53.3. 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).
SYRACUSE RECAP: Kevin Leveille totaled two goals and one assist, but it was not enough as No. 20 UMass suffered a 17-7 loss at No. 2 Syracuse. Syracuse opened the game on fire, jumping out to a 5-1 lead just over five minutes into the game. The Orangemen then expanded their lead to 7-1 later in the first period, and took a 10-2 advantage into the lockerroom at halftime. The Minutemen played even with Syracuse during the second half, with the Orangemen outscoring UMass only 7-5 after the intermission. Alex Racioppi scored two goals in the game, with Jeremy Guski, Keith Gabrielli and John Madigan all totaling a goal and an assist.
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.
SCOUTING RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights enter the game with an overall record of 3-9 and a 1-4 mark in the ECAC. Rutgers has lost its last two games, and has gone 0-4 this season in games played away from home. Junior attackman Keith Cromwell leads the team and the ECAC in scoring with 63 points on 31 goals and 32 assists, while also picking up 28 groundballs. Freshman attackman Mike McLaughlin has totaled 37 points on 16 goals and 21 assists, while junior attackman Scott Massey has 18 goals and four assists for 22 points. Senior John Martino has started every game in goal for the Scarlet Knights, posting a 13.52 goals against average with a .510 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 39-36 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 at Georgetown are the most allowed by the Hoyas 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 ... 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) ... 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.
