Men's Lacrosse Entertains Fairfield Saturday At Garber Field

University of Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Game Notes & Information
Game 11	Massachusetts (4-6 overall, 1-1 CAA) vs. Fairfield (3-8, 0-2)
Date \| Time	Saturday, April 15, 2017 \| 1 p.m.
Location	Garber Field \| Amherst, Mass.
Live Statistics	Sidearm Sports
Watch	Lax Sports Network ($$)
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 8-4 Last: Fairfield 8, Massachusetts 6; April 16, 2016 • Fairfield, Conn.
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Fairfield
Team Information	Massachusetts \| Fairfield
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassMLacrosse
Instagram	UMass Men's Lacrosse
Buy Tickets	Home: Single game available at Garber Field \| Season

On Top Of The Tweet Game
Instant information about the UMass 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.

@UMassMLAX On The Gram
UMass men's lacrosse joined Instagram during the 2016 season. Find the Minutemen on there via the handle @UMassMLAX for inside looks at the program in addition to content found on Twitter (@UMassMLacrosse) or via the UMass Athletics Facebook page.

Select Home Contests Available On UMass Sports Network
UMass men's lacrosse will have four of the six home games broadcast online UMassAthletics.com courtesy of the UMass Sports Network. The link for each broadcast is accessible in each game preview to direct fans or other interested parties to the event page. The UMass men's lacrosse home contests against Army (2/11), UMass Lowell (3/14), Brown (3/25) and Delaware (4/1) will be broadcast on this platform free of charge.

CAA Partners With Lax Sports Network For "Game Of The Week" Series
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and the Lacrosse Sports Network (LSN) struck up a partnership to digitally stream 15 contests during the 2017 regular season in a "Game of the Week" series. Massachusetts will participate in two of those contests during home games against Fairfield (4/15) and Drexel (4/28). Those two contests will be available to watch exclusively through LSN's platform.

21 With The Tally
Tyler Bogart currently ranks tied for fifth in the CAA in goals per game (2.00) with 20 over the opening 10 games played. It is already nine more goals than the now-sophomore scored on attack for the Minutemen in 2016.

Paparo Joins The Back Line
Sophomore Isaac Paparo moved into a starting role on close defense for the game against UMass Lowell and owns 11 caused turnovers along with 12 groundballs in his five appearances at the spot. Paparo, who previously played long-stick midfield, leads the team in caused turnovers with a career high 18 through 10 games (1.8). He ranks second in the CAA and is tied for 13th nationally in the category through games on Tues., April 12.

Rak-ing Up The Faceoff Wins
Over the last six games, Noah Rak is 81-for-128 on faceoffs (63.3 percent) with 40 groundballs and two goals scored. He won at least half in each game against No. 15 Yale (14-of-23), UMass Lowell (12-of-21), Hartford (18-of-24), Brown (12-of-23), Delaware (15-of-18) and No. 15 Towson (10-of-19). Rak scored a goal each against UMass Lowell and Hartford. His 10 groundballs at Hartford marked a career high while he has at least six in five of those contests.

Rak has not appeared in enough of the team's games to qualify for the CAA or NCAA rankings in faceoff percentage (missed opening three contests). He would rank first in the CAA and ninth nationally with his 60.4 win percentage (84-139) with the prerequisite number of appearances.

Making The Fifth Year The Best One
Dan Muller, a redshirt senior midfielder, ranks seventh in the CAA in assists per game (1.10) and tied for eighth in points per game (2.70) as of games on Sat., April 8. After Muller recorded six points in the opening four games, with no more than two points in any single game, he averaged 3.5 per contest over the last six games, with no less than three in any contest. He leads the team in points (27) and assists (11) and is second in goals (16). The team is 4-2 when Muller has three or more points and 0-4 when he has two or fewer.

Conso Good For Two
Grant Consoletti has six games with two or more points on the season, each coming in the last eight contests. He earned a goal and assist each versus Harvard, No. 15 Yale and UMass Lowell before he totaled a two-goal outing at Hartford and posted two assists and a goal against Brown. Consoletti added a personal-best four points (one goal, three assists) in the win over Delaware. His 17 points on the year (seven goals, 10 assists) give him his most in one season as a Minuteman while he currently ranks sixth in the CAA for assists per game (1.11).

Getting It McDonough
Sophomore long-stick midfielder and first-year Minuteman Mike McDonough averages 2.0 groundballs per game with 18 over nine appearances with the team. McDonough enhanced his efforts over the last four games with 12 groundballs in that span (3.0 per game). He also has three of his five caused turnovers in that span. He played his freshman season at Saint Leo University, where he had 36 groundballs, nine caused turnovers and four points as a short-stick defensive midfielder. He did not travel with the team to No. 15 Towson for personal reasons.

Gruder Embraces SSDM Role
Dylan Gruder is in his first season as the primary short-stick defensive midfielder and, through 10 games, is already approaching his career best totals for a single season. Gruder owns 23 groundballs, 10 caused turnovers and three points via a goal and two assists. His points and caused turnovers totals are already his most in one season. He had 24 groundballs and seven caused turnovers in 13 appearances as a junior.

Smith With The Stop
Senior goalie D.J. Smith made 107 saves over the opening 10 games of the season, an average of 10.7 per game. He ranks 27th nationally for saves per game through play on Tues., April 12. His 107 saves already more than double his career total entering the season (50). Smith made at least 10 in seven games this season, including a career high 16 against Brown.

Squeaky Clean
UMass is second in the CAA for fewest penalties taken per game and third in fewest penalty minutes per game this season with 3.10 penalties averaging two minutes, 39 seconds of man-down lacrosse over the opening 10 games. The only team in the CAA playing cleaner lacrosse is Fairfield (2.18 penalties per game; 1:52 penalty minutes per game). Towson averages more penalties (3.33) but fewer penalty minutes (2:30).

Caused Turnover & Effect
UMass leads the CAA and is 23rd in NCAA Division I with an average of 7.30 caused turnovers per game. Led by Isaac Paparo (18 CTs) and supported by balance across the lineup (17 Minutemen with one or more CTs), Massachusetts outpaces the next CAA team, Towson (7.11). A caused turnover has directly led to 14 UMass goals through 10 games (1.4 per game).

Trainor Nets Second CAA Rookie of the Week Laurel
Jeff Trainor collected his second CAA Rookie of the Week award on Mon., April 3 following his four-point outing in the win over Delaware. Trainor dished two assists and scored twice, including the eventual game-winner. Both Trainor's goals came in the fourth quarter, during which the Minutemen rattled for the final four scores for the 9-6 win. He also won CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on March 13.

Scoreboard