University of Massachusets Athletics
Final Regular Season Away Game Takes UMass To Hartford
April 09, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
| University of Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Game Notes | |
| Game 11 | Massachusetts (3-7 overall) at Hartford (6-4) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, April 11, 2015 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Location | Al-Marzook Field (2,500) | West Hartford, Conn. |
| Live Statistics | Sidearm Stats |
| Watch | AmericaEast.TV |
| Listen | WMUA 91.1 FM |
| Series History | Massachusetts leads, 11-0. Last meeting: No. 11 UMass 12, Hartford 6; March 22, 2014 |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts  | Hartford |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Hartford |
| Social Media | @UMassAthletics  | @UMassMLacrosse
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| Buy Tickets | Available through the Hartford Athletics Ticket Office |
Scouting Hartford Men's Lacrosse
Hartford men's lacrosse is in the midst of one of its strongest starts to a season in program history as the squad is 6-4 overall and 3-1 during America East games ahead of the 12th all-time meeting with UMass. The Hawks are 3-1 at home on Al-Marzook Field and are currently on a three-game winning streak.
Kevin O'Shea leads the squad with 32 points through 19 goals and 13 assists. The next-closest points producer is Griffin Feiner (18 through 13 goals, five assists), followed by Justin Huggins (15, 11, 4).
Ryan Vanderford holds down the cage with a 10.60 goals-against average and .500 save percentage in 515 minutes of action. The true-freshman from Montclair, N.J., pulled in his second America East Rookie of the Week laurel on April 6 after he provided 12.5 saves and registered an 8.37 goals-against average during the recent wins over Siena, 14-9, and UMBC in overtime, 9-8.
Peter Lawrence is in his 10th season as the head coach at the University of Hartford. Lawrence took the team to the 2011 NCAA Tournament after the squad won the America East Championship that year. He holds a 47-95 record at Hartford and 63-119 mark as a collegiate program leader.
Last Meeting: No. 11 UMass 12, Hartford 6; March 22, 2014
UMass netted a 12-6 victory over Hartford at Garber Field through a balanced attack as eight Minutemen combined to produce the 12 goals. Connor Mooney paced the offense with six points on a pair of tallies and four assists while Nick Mariano added four points through three goals and one helper.
The Minutemen made use of a six-goal run covering just under 10 minutes of game action to turn a 5-5 tie game after back-to-back Hartford scores into an 11-5 margin. Mariano had two of his three goals in the streak, both on feeds from Mooney, while Mariano added an assist when Grant Whiteway closed the stretch his with 15th tally of the year at the eight minute, 35 second mark of the fourth.
Defensive play in front stymied the Hartford attack, as the Hawks were unable to generate a shot in the first quarter and committed 14 turnovers during the game. James Fahey spearheaded the effort with three caused turnovers and as many groundballs in support of goalie Zach Oliveri, who tallied seven stops.
On Top Of The Tweet Game
Instant information about the men's lacrosse program, including an inside look at key points and statistics in each game as well as updates from practice and other team events can be found through the Twitter handle @UMassMLacrosse. Follow the Minutemen there and catch information about each UMass Athletic Department program through @UMassAthletics.
All Home Contests Available On UMass All-Access
UMass men's lacrosse will have each of its seven home games broadcast online through UMass All-Access, a CBS Interactive product. The link for each broadcast was accessible in each game preview to direct fans or other interest parties to the subscription page, where the viewer is asked to purchase the plan he or she believes to be appropriate.
Two Decades Under The Influence
The 2014 season marked Greg Cannella's 20th as the head coach of UMass. The University of Massachusetts graduate is 181-117 overall in his 21st season as the program leader and he stands as one of the longest tenured coaches in Division I men's lacrosse. In terms of total Division I experience, Cannella is eighth while his 20 years in Amherst place him fifth for longest head coaching tenure at a current school among the 70 head coaches in D-I during the 2015 season.
Cannella has guided the Minutemen to many of the most successful campaigns in program history since being named the head coach on Nov. 9, 1994. The Lynbrook, N.Y., native took the 2006 squad to the NCAA Championship Game and led UMass to the most single-season victories in program history (15) as well as the No. 1 national ranking during the 2012 season, which culminated in the most recent of the team's eight trips to the NCAA Tournament under Cannella.
Izzo Collects 100th Career Groundball
UMass redshirt-senior short-stick defensive midfielder Ryan Izzo picked up his 100th career groundball during the game at No. 18 Towson on Saturday, March 28. Izzo, who is a mainstay on the faceoff unit as well as a part of the clear and ride units in addition to his work on defense, set a career high with 52 in 2013 after he had six in his first year of competition. The Walpole, Massachusetts, native added 25 in 2014 and has 24 more through 10 games of his final year.
He is the active leader among Minutemen for career groundballs and caused turnovers, which he has 31 of.
Muller's Strong Return From Injury
Dan Muller returned from a year-long absence due to a knee injury vs. Army. It marked his first appearance in the Maroon and White since May 1, 2013 at Penn State during the CAA Tournament semifinals. Muller had seven points on six goals and an assist as a freshman in 2013. He scored his first points of 2015 at No. 5 North Carolina when he had two on a goal and assist.
Through 10 games played in the midfield, Muller owns 16 points via nine goals and seven assists. He has multiple points in six of the previous nine contests after he was held scoreless versus the Black Knights.
Lindley Picked For CAA And ECAC Rookie Of The Week
Freshman Peter Lindley took home CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday, March 16 and followed it up one day later with ECAC Rookie of the Week after he recorded eight points over a pair of wins versus Quinnipiac, 18-5 and Penn State, 12-8. Lindley had five points during the victory over the Bobcats and added three more on two goals - including the game-winner - and an assist in the comeback effort versus the Nittany Lions.
The Small Set Of Senior
The 2015 senior class of short-stick defensive midfielder Ryan Izzo, midfielder Chas Robino, short-stick defensive midfielder Brendan Schroeder, midfielder Andrew Sokol, close defenseman Peter Von Rosenvinge and attackman Grant Whiteway is one of the smallest in the nation. Of all men's lacrosse programs in at least their fourth season of NCAA Division I competition, the six-member senior class at UMass ranks tied as the ninth-smallest.
Recent Defensive Improvement Nets Three Victories
The Minutemen gave up 14.80 goals per game during the five consecutive losses to begin the 2015 season. Since then, UMass only allows opponents 7.20 goals per game during wins over Quinnipiac, Penn State and Hofstra and the losses at No. 18 Towson and against Fairfield. Redshirt-junior Zach Oliveri improved noticeably in the last five games as he dropped his goals-against average from 14.48 in the five-game losing streak to 7.15 during the latest five contests.
The defense, as a unit, limits foes to 30.4 shots and a .237 shot percentage over the previous five matchups after the squad allowed 38.0 attempts and a .389 shot percentage in the five consecutive losses.
An Unselfish Approach To Offense
UMass leads the CAA in assists per game through contests on Wednesday, April 9 as the Minutemen have 70 for an average of 7.00 per game. Fairfield is second at 5.82 per game (64 in 11 contests). The Minutemen were second in the league in assists per game during the 2013 and 2014 seasons after they led the conference in the category during 2012.
Offense Erupts In Win Over Quinnipiac
UMass men's lacrosse scored 18 goals during the win over Quinnipiac on Tuesday, March 10, the most by the program in one game since an 18-12 victory over Drexel in the CAA Championship Game on May 5, 2012. It ended a streak of 34 consecutive contests with fewer than 18 goals scored. The last time UMass had more than 18 in one game was a 20-10 win over Hartford on Feb. 20, 2010.
Mariano Good For Multiple
Nick Mariano has multiple points in 16 of the last 17 games and 21 of the 23 contests he has played in. Mariano's first game with less than two points doubles as his only career contest without a goal, March 11, 2014 against Providence when he assisted on one tally in the 16-11 victory. He was held to one point on a goal at No. 18 Towson on March 28, 2015. The Yorktown, N.Y., native has 71 career points on 48 goals and 23 assists for an average of 3.09 points per appearance.
Schneider Rejoins Coaching Staff As A Volunteer Assistant
UMass men's lacrosse head coach Greg Cannella announced Doc Schneider has returned to the staff as a volunteer assistant coach on Dec. 4. Schneider previously helped Cannella during the 2010-14 seasons after he completed a stellar playing career with the Minutemen from 2006-09.
Schneider will work with the goalies and will assist in on- and off-field game preparations. As an assistant coach from 2010-14, Schneider was responsible for various components of the direction of the defense and goalie units. Schneider returns to the coaching ranks after he pursued opportunities in the private sector following the completion of the 2014 collegiate lacrosse season.
McDonald Named Assistant Coach
The University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse team and head coach Greg Cannella announced the addition of Craig McDonald as an assistant coach on Wednesday, July 30, 2014. McDonald spent the previous three seasons at Rutgers, where he coached the defense and served as the team's recruiting coordinator.
Prior to working with the Rutgers men's lacrosse program, McDonald was on-staff at Siena to help the team win the Mid-American Athletic Conference and advance to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. He joined the coaching ranks in 2008 following his graduation from Albany when he spent a year coaching under 1999 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee Paul Wehrum at Union College.
McDonald played four seasons at Albany from 2005-08, totaling three all-conference selections as a starter on close defense for the Great Danes. The native of Geneva, N.Y., helped the squad make NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2007 while the program won 41 games during his playing tenure.
James Fahey Joins Coaching Side As Undergraduate Volunteer
James Fahey became part of the men's lacrosse coaching staff in the Fall 2014 as he finishes up his undergraduate degree as the University of Massachusetts. Fahey will assist the coaching staff in various aspects of the program's day-to-day operation.
Fahey competed for the Minutemen as an undergraduate student from 2011-14. In his senior season, Fahey led the squad in caused turnovers with 20 and had the most groundballs on the close defense and the second-highest total on the team with 31. He participated in 39 career contests with 15 starts and accumulated 53 groundballs with 28 caused turnovers.
