University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Game Notes for Wednesday at Harvard
April 17, 2001 | Men's Lacrosse
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#4 MASSACHUSETTS (9-0, 4-0 ECAC)
vs.
HARVARD (6-4, 1-3 Ivy League)
Game #10 * Wed. April 18, 2001 * 3:00 p.m.
Jordan Field (900) * Cambridge, Mass.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST HARVARD
Today's game marks the 32nd all-time meeting between the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University. UMass holds a 22-9 edge in the series that began in 1970. The Minutemen defeated the Crimson, 10-9, last season in Amherst. UMass has won the last two games in the series. This marks the second of three non-conference games against Ivy League teams this season. The Minutemen defeated Yale, 14-7, this past Saturday and close out the regular season at Brown on May 5.
THE SCOUTING REPORT ON THE CRIMSON
Harvard enters the game with a 6-4 overall record and a 1-3 record in the Ivy League. The Crimson are coming off a 15-1 loss to No. 1 Princeton this past weekend. Harvard opened the season with three straight wins over New England teams, beating Providence, Boston College and Holy Cross before losing to Pennsylvania and Fairfield. Harvard then upset Duke, 6-5, and defeated Hartford before falling to Cornell. The Crimson beat Brown for their only Ivy League win.
IN THE FACE-OFF CIRCLE
UMass, and primary face-off man senior Jeff Seals, have excelled on draws this year, winning 153 out of 244 face-offs for a .627 winning percentage. Seals has won 125 out of 200 (.625) face-offs this year, which ranks him eighth in the nation. He ranks first in the country in ground balls, averaging 9.78 a game. Sophomore Kevin Merchant has won 25 of 37 (.676) face-offs through nine games.
TURNING (HAT) TRICKS
Eight different Minutemen have registered hat tricks thus far this season. Dan Paccione, Marc Morley (3), Don Little (2), Jeremy Guski, Kevin Leveille (3), Neil Lundberg, Alex Racioppi and Rich Kunkel (4) have each had games with three goals or more. Kunkel has scored six goals in a game, and both Little and Leveille have each scored five goals in a game. The Minuteman offense has scored 145 goals through nine games and are second in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 16.11 goals per game.
CAMPING OUT IN THE CAGE
Senior goaltender Chris Campolettano currently ranks seventh on the UMass all-time saves list with 396. Through nine games this season, Campolettano has made 108 saves, including 15 stops in last Saturday's 14-7 victory over Yale. He is currently ranked ninth in the country in save percentage (.632) and 12th in goals against average (7.92).
MINUTEMEN MOVING UP IN THE POLLS
The Minutemen remained at No. 4 in this week's USILA/STX Coaches Poll following the 14-7 victory over Yale. The No. 4 ranking equals the highest ever for UMass. Prior to this season, the Minutemen's highest ever ranking was also No. 4, which occured during the 1981 season. UMass began the 2001 season ranked 19th.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
UMass has been effective in both its extra-man opportunities and man-down situations thus far. The Minutemen have converted on 16 out of 39 (41.0%) extra-man opportunities this season, and have killed off 48 of 54 (88.9%) penalties through nine games. The Minutemen rank fourth in the nation in man-up offense and second in the nation in man-down defense.
CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTION
Three Minutemen have recorded at least one point in every game this season. Rich Kunkel, Kevin Leveille and John Madigan have all managed to pick up a point in all nine games. Kunkel is the only player on the team to score a goal in every game and currently has an 11-game goal-scoring streak. He has also scored a goal in 15 of the last 16 games. Leveille has a 17-game point streak that began last season.
KUNKEL EQUALS A CAREER HIGH
Senior attackman Rich Kunkel matched a career high by scoring six goals in the 14-7 victory over Yale. Kunkel netted at least one goal in all four quarters, including scoring two in less than 30 seconds near the end of the first half. It was the third time is his career that Kunkel had netted six goals in a game. He also did it last season against Boston College and in 1999 against Fairfield.
STREAKING TO START THE SEASON
The Minutemen are currently enjoying their best start to a season since opening the 1981 season with 10 straight victories. UMass' nine-game win streak is currently the second longest in the nation behind only Quinnipiac's 12-game streak. The last time the Minutemen won 10 straight games was during the 1991 season.
HEAD COACH GREG CANNELLA
Greg Cannella is in his seventh season as head coach of the Minutemen after serving as an assistant coach at UMass for two years. He has compiled a 49-38 (.563) record in his tenure in Amherst, and led UMass to its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual national champion Princeton. Cannella graduated from UMass in 1988 where he played under legendary Hall of Fame coach Richard F. Garber.
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
This is the third road game of the season for UMass ... Including the Harvard game, there are five games remaining on the 2001 regular season schedule ... UMass ranks 10th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.67 goals per game ... As a team, the Minutemen are ranked fourth in the country in face-offs ... UMass is outscoring opponents by an 8.44 margin this season, which is tops in the country ... UMass enters the game with Harvard as one of only two undefeated Division I lacrosse teams in the country. Quinnipiac (12-0) is the other ... For the third straight preseason, Face-Off College Lacrosse Yearbook ranked the UMass schedule as one of the toughest in the nation. The Minutemen were tied for the 11th spot with Hobart ... Tickets for the Georgetown (Sat., April 21, 1:00 p.m.) and the Syracuse (Sat., April 28, 1:00 p.m.) games are sale now. To purchase tickets please call the UMass Athletic Ticket Office at (413) 545-0810.
