University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
[4] Drexel
Men's Lacrosse Prepares To Host CAA Championship
April 30, 2019 | Men's Lacrosse
Minutemen host No. 4 seed Drexel on Thursday at 5 p.m.
| University of Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 15 | [1-Seed] #14 Massachusetts (10-4) vs. [4-Seed] Drexel (6-7) |
| Date | Time | Thursday, May 2, 2019 | 5:00 PM |
| Location | Garber Field | Amherst, Mass. |
| Live Statistics | StatBroadcast |
| Watch | Lax Sports Network (free) |
| Series History | Massachusetts leads, 7-4 Last: Massachusetts 10, Drexel 9 Amherst, Mass. • March 30, 2019 |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Drexel | CAA |
| @UMassAthletics | @UMassMLacrosse | |
| UMass Men's Lacrosse | |
| Buy Tickets | UMass Ticket Central |
Staying Power
Head coach Greg Cannella reached career win No. 200 in the midst of his 25th 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 216-146 overall (59.7 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 (31st 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.
Paparo Tabbed One Of Only 25 Tewaaraton Award Nominees
University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse senior close defenseman Isaac Paparo is one of only 25 nominees for the 2019 Tewaaraton Award, as announced by the Tewaaraton Foundation on Thursday. Paparo enters Thursday's CAA Championship Semifinal Round game against Drexel with a CAA-best 29 caused turnovers as well as 62 groundballs and nine points via seven goals and two assists.
Paparo is one of only five defenseman to make the cut and one of only three players from the CAA chosen. It marks Paparo's second time up for the Tewaaraton Award, as he was also a preseason nominee in 2018.
The 19th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held May 30, 2019 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
CAA Bound
Massachusetts makes its eighth CAA Championship field appearance in 2019 as one of the four teams admitted, which also includes Delaware, Drexel and Towson.
Since joining the league in 2010 UMass is tied for second-most appearances among current CAA members alongside Drexel. Towson is the only side with more (9).
UMass won the 2012 and 2018 CAA championships and were finalists in 2011, 2015 and 2017. The 2011, 2012 and 2018 tournaments were also hosted on Garber Field.
Connolly's Continuous Production
Sophomore attack Chris Connolly has at least one point in all 30 games of his career with 111 total via 51 goals and 60 assists. It ranks Connolly tied for 15th in the country among active players and third among CAA players behind Drexel's Matt Varian (11th; 34 games; 119 points) and Delaware's Charlie Kitchen (14th; 31 games; 117 points).
Connolly is one of only 10 players in the country whose consecutive games-with-a-point streak extends across all of their career games played. Among only players who have recorded at least one point in each of their career games, Connolly stands tied for seventh.
Blackjack In Net
Senior goalie Sean Sconone made a career-high 21 saves in the team's 17-8 win over Fairfield on Sat., April 20, 2019. It was one better than his prior mark, set against Fairfield during the 2018 season and matched versus No. 13 Ohio State in 2019.
Current associate head coach and former UMass goalie Doc Schneider was the last Minuteman with 21 or more saves in a game. Schneider had 21 in a 7-6 (OT) win over Hobart on April 11, 2009.
