Battle Of Unbeatens: No. 13 UMass Hosts Stony Brook On Saturday At Noon

March 11, 2005

#13 MASSACHUSETTS (2-0) vs. STONY BROOK (2-0)
Saturday, March 12, 2005  12:00 p.m.
Garber Field (5,000) Amherst, Mass.
Gametracker/Live Audio: umassathletics.com

#13 UMass Hosts Stony Brook
 It's a battle of undefeated teams on Saturday. The UMass men's lacrosse team hosts Stony Brook for it's second home game in a row, after Wednesday's matchup against Harvard in Cambridge was postponed due to the winter storm. Their last time out on Garber Field, UMass topped Yale, 12-6 in their first game of the season on March 5, behind three goals from preseason All-American Sean Morris (Marshfield, Mass.), In that game, Gene Tundo (Orchard Park, N.Y.) found the back of the cage once and handed out three assists to pace the Mintuemen attack. UMass is ranked No. 13 in the latest Geico/STX Coaches Poll.

 The Minutemen come off a 7-7 season and primed to rebound as they look for their third NCAA berth in four seasons. Stony Brook finished the 2004 season with a 9-6 record. The Seawolves are 2-0 this season and are coming off a postponed game due to inclement weather vs. Army that was slated for Tuesday March 8th.

Top Six Lax Facts
 Preseason All-American Sean Morris' seven goals account for 30% of UMass tallies this season (24) and is the current ECAC Offensive Player of the Week.

 Bill Schell moved up to seventh all-time in saves against Yale with 439.

 UMass' defense has allowed just 6.50 goals per game behind Schell and preseason All-Americans Jack Reid and Matt Garcia. That mark is seventh in the nation at this early point.

 UMass has outscored the Seawolves 69-29 over the past five outings.

 Head Coach Greg Cannella was an assistant at Stony Brook for four seasons before returning to his alma mater in Amherst.

 Four Minutemen will meet up with old high school teammates in this afternoon's matchup.

The Series With Stony Brook
 UMass holds a 5-0 lead in the all-time series with Stony Brook. In games played in Stony Brook, UMass leads 3-0, while UMass has taken both games in Amherst.

The Recent Meetings
 UMass won last season's matchup, 10-3, at LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook. Senior co-captain Chris Doyle (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) found the back of the cage on three occassions, while senior Ryan Connolly (North Andover, Mass.) tallied two goals. Sophomores Brian Jacovina (Hicksville, N.Y) and Andrew Recchione (Mahwah, N.J.) each handed out an assist. The Minutemen outshot the Seawolves 44 to 21 in the victory.

 In the last game in Amherst, on April 16, 2003, the Minutemen topped Stony Brook, 17-7. Jeff Zywicki (Napean, Ontario) notched two goals and added three assists while Gene Tundo (Orchard Park, N.Y.) scored two goals and dished an assist for UMass and Doyle contributed with a goal and an assist as well. Goalie Bill Schell (Mahopac, N.Y.) was solid in cage, making nine saves.

A Familiar Foe
 UMass Head Coach Greg Cannella spent four seasons as an assistant at Stony Brook from 1988-92. Cannella served as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator on John Espey's staff. He earned a master's degree in liberal studies while coaching the Seawolves. Cannella's wife Laurie is a Stony Brook grad who played soccer at the school.

Same Faces, New Places
 Several Minutemen will be playing against old high school teammates in this afternoon's match. Junior Bret Caretsky and his freshman brother P.J. Caresky will reunite with John Donnelly, as they played together at Northport High on Long Island. Sophomore Brian Jacovina and Michal Trojanowski played together at Hicksville High also on Long Island. Sophomore Mike Gongas will meet up with Ryan Hughes, Adam Marksberry, and Jim Astea, who all played at Comsewogue High on Long Island.

Morris Continues to Pile up Awards
 Junior Sean Morris has been recoginzed this week as the UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week. Morris had a huge game for the second week in a row as he netted three goals including the game-winner in a 12-6 victory over Yale. He leads UMass in goals with seven and points with nine.

 Junior All-American Sean Morris has been recognized as the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the Minutemen's 12-7 victory of Hofstra last Saturday (Feb. 26).

 Morris tied his career best with five points, including a career-high four goals in the win over No. 25 Hofstra in the season opener for both teams. Morris scored three goals in the second quarter as the Minutemen built a 6-4 halftime lead to put them ahead for the remainder of the contest. Morris also tallied the game's final goal for his career high in scores.

UMass Tops Yale, 12-6, in Home Opener
 Junior All-American Sean Morris continued his torrid offensive 2005 campaign, tallying three goals to lead the University of Massachusetts past Yale, 12-6, this afternoon on Garber Field.

 Sophomore Brett Garber scored the first goal of the game, with 8:01 remaining in the first period off a feed from senior Gene Tundo. Tundo registered his second helper of the game when he found junior Jamie Yaman in front of the cage. The Bulldogs closed out the scoring in the stanza when junior David Schecter tallied his first goal of the season.

 Yale (0-1) tied the game up just over a minute into the second period when junior Dan Brillman found fresh man Tyler Casertano in front of the cage for his first collegiate point. The Minutemen would respond by scoring four unanswered goals to close out the third period to take a handle on the game. Goals from junior Bret Caretsky, Morris, Tundo, and sophomore Pat Larmon put UMass up 6-2 heading into the locker room.

 The Minutemen continued to score at will as Morris and sophomore Andrew Recchione hit the twine to start the second half. The Bulldogs tallied two quick goals, just six seconds apart to cut the lead to 8-4. Schecter notched a man-up goal before senior Seth Goldberg found the back of the cage in a hurry after a Bulldog face- off win. Senior Jeff Zywicki got into the scoring mix when he scored with just over five minutes left in the period. A goal by Brillman at the 1:44 mark closed out the scoring in the period.

 Morris tallied his second-consecutive three-plus goal game just under a minute into the final period. Back-to- back goals from Zywicki and Garber put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs. Schecter recorded the final goal of the game, his third, to complete the scoring.

 Senior goalie Bill Schell was solid in the cage, registering 12 saves and moved up to seventh place all-time in career saves with 439 stops. Freshman George Carafides also had 12 saves in his first collegiate game for Yale.

The Reid Radar
 Junior defenseman Jack Reid (Glastonbury, Conn.) is among 37 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy. The Tewaaraton Trophy honors the top male and female varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.  This marks the fourth straight year that a UMass player has been named on the preseason list. Jeff Zywicki was on the list last season.

Morris Accumlates Accolades
 In a vote by the league coaches, junior Sean Morris has earned the ECAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors for 2005. A Preseason Third Team All-American selection, Morris was a key component to the Minutemen's midfield in 2004. He played in 10 games and started the final eight after missing time with mononucleosis. For the year, he tallied 24 points and led the Minutemen in assists with 17 helpers.

 Senior midfielder Chris Doyle received preseason all-league honors after finding the back of the cage 25 times last season, a team best. Jack Reid was also named to the team by the coaches along with Morris.

Quartet Of All-Americans
 Four UMass men's lacrosse players were named to the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-American Team. Junior defenseman Jack Reid was named to the first team. Junior attackman Sean Morris was named to the third team while senior midfielder Chris Doyle and senior defenseman Matt Garcia were honorable mention All-Americans.

 Reid had a great sophomore season as he was named a 2004 STX / USILA Division I Honorable Mention All-America and was named first team All-New England. He led the team with 53 ground balls in only 13 games for an average of 4.08 ground balls per game. He scooped up a career-best eight ground balls twice in the last four games of the season, and was named a first team All-New England selection. He led a defense that allowed only six foes to reach double figures and only 8.36 goals per game. He was named a preseason third team All-American selection after being named to Inside Lacrosse's All-Freshman Team and second team All-New England and second team All-ECAC as a freshman. Reid made the league's second team again in 2004. For his career, Reid has appeared in 29 games and scooped up 86 ground balls.

 Morris played in just 10 games last season. He came on late in the season with 11 points over his last three games. In his first year at UMass after transferring from Rutgers, he had 14 goals and eight assists in 2003.

 Doyle was named to the All-ECAC First Team and All-New England second team last season. He tied for the team lead with 30 points and his 25 goals was first on the squad in 2004. He scored in every game last season and will carry a 19-game scoring streak into this year. He scored at least two points in the last eight games. For his career, Doyle has 56 points (44 g, 12 a) in 45 career outings.

 Garcia was named to the All-New England second team for the second straight year in 2004. Along with Reid, he helped limit opponents to only 8.29 goals per game, which ranked among the nation's top 20. Garcia scooped up 23 ground balls in 11 contests, despite missing three full games with an ankle sprain.

Listen Up
 Once again this season, UMass lacrosse will be heard on WMUA 91.1 FM, the longtime flagship station of Minutemen lacrosse. UMass broadcasts on WMUA are also available on the internet through Real Audio. Information on connecting to UMass lacrosse broadcasts is on the UMass Athletics Home Page at www.umassathletics.com.

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