University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#5/4 Yale
Men's Lacrosse Challenges Yale In NCAA First Round On Saturday
May 09, 2018 | Men's Lacrosse
UMass makes 20th all-time NCAA appearance May 12 on ESPNU at Noon
| University of Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Game Notes & Information: NCAA Championship First Round | |
| Game 17 | #15/14 Massachusetts (12-4 overall) at [3-Seed] #5/4 Yale (13-3) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Noon |
| Location | Reese Stadium | New Haven, Conn. | Directions |
| Live Statistics | NCAA GameCenter |
| Watch | ESPNU (Play-By-Play: Jay Alter; Commentator: Ryan Boyle) | WatchESPN |
| Series History | Massachusetts leads, 19-8 Last: No. 11/11 Yale 13, Massachusetts 10 • Feb. 27, 2018 • Amherst, Mass. • Garber Field |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Yale | CAA |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Yale | CAA | Ivy League |
| @UMassAthletics | @UMassMLacrosse | |
| UMass Men's Lacrosse | |
| Buy Tickets | Available through Yale Athletics Ticket Office (includes parking information) |
Staying Power
Head coach Greg Cannella reached career win No. 200 in the midst of his 24th season at the helm of the Minuteman program, one of the longest tenured coaches active in Division I men's lacrosse. He is the second-longest tenured head coach at one institution and fifth nationally in terms of total years spent as a Division I head coach. Cannella began his time as the leader of the team ahead of the 1995 season and, since then, won 10 or more games during seven campaigns. He guided the Minutemen to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and currently stands at 206-141 overall (59.4 win percentage).
When Cannella was hired, the following had not been invented yet...
• Nintendo 64 (1996)
• The DVD player (1996)
• Google (1998)
• The iPod (2001)
• MySpace (2003)
...and the following events were yet to happen:
• 2018 NFL Hall of Fame class members Brian Dawkins (1996), Ray Lewis (1996), Terrell Owens (1996), Randy Moss (1998) and Brian Urlacher (2000) play their rookie seasons
• Spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars (1997)
• J.K. Rowling publishes the first Harry Potter book (1997)
• Tiger Woods wins his first major championship (1997)
• The International Space Station is launched (1998)
• SpongeBob Squarepants debuts on Nickelodeon (1999)
• Tom Brady is drafted by the New England Patriots (2000)
• Major League Lacrosse plays its inaugural game (2001)
The only current coach with a longer tenure at one institution is Notre Dame's Kevin Corrigan (30th season).
Mount St. Mary's head coach Tom Gravante was hired before the 1995 season, but missed all of 2005 due to illness and the team's official records attributes the 2005 season head coaching record to interim program leader Nick DeFelice. Due to that, 2018 tallies as Gravante's 23rd year with the Mount.
The Grizzled Old Gorillas
UMass sports an eight-man senior class in 2018, including six true-seniors and a pair of redshirt juniors. The group is comprised of Buddy Carr, Mike Elcock, Jake Lisauskas, Jake Marino, Noah Rak, Shane Rinkus, Dom St. Laurent and Luc Valenza. Over the opening 16 games of the season, these eight Minutemen combined for 106 points via 66 goals and 40 assists alongside 232 groundballs and 48 caused turnovers.
A Dynamic Duo
Senior attack Buddy Carr (60 points) and Jeff Trainor (50) make Massachusetts one of only 11 programs with multiple 50-point scorers in NCAA Division I entering the NCAA Championship. Freshman attack Chris Connolly is three points shy of joining Carr and Trainor. No team had three 50-point scorers entering the NCAA Championship.
Billerica's Finest
Sophomore midfielder Jeff Trainor sports 50 points as a member of the first- and second-line midfields this season via 28 goals and 22 assists. It is the most points for a UMass midfielder since Tim Soudan produced 50 through 32 goals and 18 assists during the 1990 season. Trainor (2017-present) and Soudan (1987-90) are the only single-season 50-point scorers to play in the midfield in recorded team history. Trainor was a member of the second-line midfield over the opening three games (5P, 4G, 1A). He earned promotion to the first line prior to the game against No. 11 Yale and has started on the first line since.
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Massachusetts ranks among the top teams in the nation for assist percentage as the team owns 122 assists on 184 total goals (66.3 percent). It is sixth in the country and tops among CAA teams.
The Brick Wall Impersonation
UMass men's lacrosse junior goalie Sean Sconone made 20 saves in the 11-4 win at Fairfield on Sat., April 21. It marked the most saves by a Minuteman since current associate head coach Doc Schneider turned aside 21 attempts in a 7-6 overtime win at Hobart on April 11, 2009.
His saves total tied Sconone for fifth-most across NCAA Division I this season and it set the previous high-mark in the CAA, four more than the next goalie, before Hofstra's Jack Concannon had 22 in the CAA Championship Semifinal Round on May 3.
Paparo For The Course
Isaac Paparo recorded five groundballs and three caused turnovers at No. 16 Army. It was his third career game with five or more groundballs and his seventh with three or more caused turnovers. Paparo also recorded three caused turnovers each against Harvard, at Brown and at Fairfield, the eighth, ninth and 10th-such games of his career.
His defensive success in 2018 reflects a continuation of his sophomore year output, which included 46 groundballs and a program-record 33 caused turnovers. He enters the game against Yale with the most caused turnovers among active Minutemen (64) and the second-most groundballs (117), behind only faceoff specialist Noah Rak (269).
