#20 Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Heads To Towson In Search Of Sixth Straight Win

University of Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Game Notes & Information

Game 10	#20 Massachusetts (6-3, 1-0 CAA) at Towson (4-6, 1-0 CAA)
Date \| Time	Saturday, April 9, 2022 \| 12 PM
Location	Johnny Unitas Stadium \| Towson, Md.
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	FloLive ($)
Series History	Towson leads 10-7 Last: Towson 9, Massachusetts 6 Garber Field \| Amherst, Mass. \| April 17, 2021
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassMLacrosse
Instagram	UMass Men's Lacrosse

Against Towson

- Massachusetts is 7-10 all-time against Towson since the series began in 1963. The Gorillas fell to the Tigers, 9-6 last season at Garber Field, snapping a stretch of three straight wins in the all-time series for UMass.

To Quickly Recap

- Massachusetts erased a five-goal halftime deficit, rallying to defeat Delaware in overtime, 11-10, in the teams' CAA opener at Garber Field on April 2. The victory preserved UMass' perfect home record at 5-0 on the year, the best home start for the Gorillas since 2012.
- Massachusetts had a balanced offensive effort with nine players notching at least one point and seven individuals combining for the squad's 11 goals. Kevin Tobin led the way with a hat trick and four groundballs, while Grant Breyo notched two goals and an assist and Logan Liljeberg had a goal and two helpers. Caleb Hammett enjoyed a dominant performance over X, winning 20-of-24 faceoffs, while collecting 15 groundballs.
- Delaware built a 4-1 cushion in the opening quarter before Tobin netted his second of the day with 2:36 remaining in the frame. The teams traded tallies to end the period before the Blue Hens outscored UMass 4-1 in the second to build the largest lead of the day, five, with the score standing at 9-4 in favor of Delaware at the break.
- Tobin then kick-started the Gorillas' second half comeback with a man-up goal to complete his hat trick at the 8:55 mark of the third, beginning a 6-0 run for the Maroon and White. Breyo ultimately tied the score at 9-9 with 14:41 to play in the fourth and Tim Hoynes gave UMass its first lead of the contest, 10-9 at 12:28.
- Mark Bieda scored the lone second half goal for the Blue Hens with 8:47 left in the fourth. The tally proved to be the last for either side in regulation, as it initially appeared that UMass netted a buzzer beater for the win, but the goal was called back for a crease violation.
- With 1:01 to go in the extra period, Hoynes ripped home a long range shot for the game winner.
- Delaware edged UMass in shots, 44-42 on the day, 30-27 in shots on target. The Gorillas grabbed 40 groundballs to the Blue Hens' 28 and both teams were 1-for-3 in extra man opportunities in the contest.
- Matt Knote made a season-high 20 stops between the pipes for Massachusetts, including 11 in the second half and one in overtime.

Trending Upwards

- UMass, winners of five straight for the first time since 2019, has cracked into the national polls, currently at No. 20 this week, reentering the rankings for the first time since March of 2020.
- The Gorillas overtime win over Delaware was the first OT victory for UMass since February 16, 2014 vs. Ohio State in Jacksonville, Fla.

Knote Earns Weekly Honor

- Junior goalkeeper Matt Knote was selected as the CAA Player of the Week this past Monday after playing a pivotal role in the Gorillas' 11-10 overtime victory over Delaware on April 2.
- The Speonk, New York native made a season-high 20 saves against the Blue Hens, including 12 in the second half and overtime, limiting Delaware to one goal over the final 32:59 as UMass rallied from a five-goal deficit.
- It marked Knote's seventh double-digit save performance in the past eight games.

Gorillas Among The CAA and NCAA Leaders

- Gabriel Procyk's team-high 18 goals over nine games for a 2.00 average ranks tied for eighth in the CAA. He is tied for second in the conference in man-up goals with five on the season and is tied for 14^th nationally.
- Kevin Tobin leads the CAA in assists per-game with 14 over seven contests for a 2.00 average, while Logan Liljeberg is eighth (1.33 a/gm). Tobin also ranks second in points per-game at 3.71 with 26 over seven games.
- Matt Knote leads the CAA in goals against average (10.34), third in save percentage (.537) and third in saves per-game (12.00). He is 16^th nationally in GAA.
- Caleb Hammett has won 99 of 168 faceoffs for a .589 winning percentage over nine games to lead the CAA and ranks 11^th in the nation in faceoff percentage. He is 15^th nationally in groundballs per-game (7.44) and second in the CAA. Teammate Zack Hochman (25-for-59, .431) sits ninth in the conference.

Milestone Watch

- Kevin Tobin currently has 138 career points and is 10 points shy of passing Jeff Trainor (2017-21) to become the highest scoring midfielder in program history.
- Sam Eisenstadt has 33 career caused turnovers (tied 16^th all-time) and is three shy of cracking the top-15 in program history.
- Matt Knote has 314 career saves to date, recently breaking into the top-15 all time in program history and is 21 away from matching Gerry Moreau (1981-85) for 14^th all-time.

First Of Many

- Massachusetts had five players net their first UMass goals in the season opener against Army as those five Gorillas accounted for 10 of the squad's 13 tallies in the contest.
- Transfers Logan Liljeberg and Anthony Sericolo combined for five goals against the Black Knights, with Liljeberg posting a hat trick.
- Sophomore Shane O'Leary posted his first career hat trick with his first three goals of his collegiate career, while classmate Grant Breyo collected his first career goal in his second season with the Maroon & White.
- Freshman John Krisch picked up his first career goal in his collegiate debut. Graduate transfer James Caddigan added an assist for his first UMass point. John Crehan and Jack Wittmaack also made their collegiate debuts at Army.

Next Man Up Mentality

- With Chris Connolly and Kevin Tobin both missing time with injuries early this season, several Gorillas stepped up to contribute offensively as Grant Breyo, Mike Tobin, Logan Liljeberg and Shane O'Leary all have double digit goal totals through nine games. O'Leary and Breyo are tied with Kevin Tobin for second on the squad with 12 goals each, while Liljeberg and Mike Tobin have scored 11 goals each.
- Mike Tobin has already surpassed his career high of six goals in seven games in 2020.
- O'Leary and Breyo, both sophomores, came into the 2022 campaign with zero career goals between them. Both have hat tricks to their credit thus far this year and Breyo has scored at least one goal in seven of nine games.

More First Timers

- In the 19-9 win over UMass Lowell on February 19, 12 individuals combined for Massachusetts' 19 tallies, including the first two goals of James Caddigan's UMass career and first collegiate goals for Mason Bregman, Jackson Cummings and Matthew Hill.
- Bregman was one of 10 Gorillas who saw their first collegiate action in the victory, along with Sebo Birse, Tyler Bluse, Brady Hoff, Aidan Kaminska, Sam Mattson, Matthew Petitto, Owen Quinn, Zachary Relovsky and Coltrane Tyson
- Mike Tobin netted his first career hat trick at Yale on March 5.

Record Setting Man Up Day

- Massachusetts went 7-for-8 in extra-man opportunities against UMass Lowell on February 19, setting a new program single-game record for man up goals in a single game. UMass had six extra-man goals on two occasions prior since the stat has been tracked: May 21, 2005 against Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament and March 13, 1999 vs. Fairfield.

Back For More

- The Gorillas have five players on this year's roster in their fifth seasons with the Maroon & White: attack/midfielder Jack Siebert, midfielder Kevin Tobin, attack Chris Connolly, defenseman Sam Eisenstadt and midfielder Kevin Cutinella.
- Tobin led UMass in scoring last season with 31 points.

20-20 Vision

- Massachusetts returned two 20-goal scorers from 2021 in senior Gabriel Procyk and sophomore Dillon Arrant who put up 21 and 20 goals, respectively. Procyk entered the year tied for fourth all-time in man-up goals with 15 in his career, and has surpassed Ben Spencer (2016-19) for the program record with 20 to his credit.
- Arrant's 20-goal season as a rookie in 2021 tied for the 10^th most by a freshman in program history.
- Procyk is on the cusp of his second 20-goal campaign as he currently has 18 on the season through nine contests and sits second on the team with 24 points.

Adding Experience

- UMass has added three transfers in attack Logan Liljeberg from Sacred Heart, midfielder Anthony Sericolo from Hartford and midfielder James Caddigan from Colgate
- Liljeberg put up 138 points (73 goals, 65 assists) over 49 games for the Pioneers with 108 groundballs and 24 caused turnovers. He served as team captain and earned All-NEC First-Team honors after finishing third in the conference at 4.09 points per-game. He was a USILA Scholar All-American and a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection.
- Sericolo played two seasons at Hartford and logged 22 points in 13 games on 15 goals and 7 assists with 15 groundballs.
- Caddigan captained Colgate's squad in 2021 and was a three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member. He logged 66 points (43 goals,23 assists) with 48 groundballs and four caused turnovers.
- Liljeberg has bolstered the UMass offense thus far this year with 23 points in nine games on 11 goals and 12 assists. He ranks third on the team in points, second in assists and tied for fifth in goals.

Reloading The Bench

- Head coach Greg Cannella, who is entering his 28^th season at the helm and 30^th overall on the bench for Massachusetts will have three new faces joining him on the sidelines in 2022: Noah Fossner, Kyle Smith and Ron Hamwey.
- Fossner, a 2011 Delaware graduate and former goalkeeper, comes to UMass with a decade's worth of Division I coaching experience with previous stints at his alma mater as well as Harvard, Boston University and Rutgers.
- Smith a 2014 UMass graduate, returns to his alma mater following a seven-year stint with Merrimack where he helped the warriors to two national titles at the Division II level.

Welcome To The Troop

- Massachusetts has eight first-year players on its roster this season: Attack Coltrane Tyson (Burlington, Ontario), midfielders Sebo Birse (Salem, Mass.), Brady Hoff (Ipswich, Mass.), John Krisch (Huntington, N.Y.) and Sam Mattson (Wrentham, Mass.) and defensemen Corey Frydman (Boca Raton, Fla.), Matthew Petitto (Wakefield, Mass.) and Zachary Relovsky (Kinnelon, N.J.).

Leading The Way

- Graduate student Chris Connolly, graduate student Sam Eisenstadt and senior Matthew Hill are serving as the team's captains this season.
- The trio has combined to play in 135 career games to date for the Gorillas.

Band of Brothers

- The 2022 Massachusetts men's lacrosse roster features two pairs of siblings in Kevin Tobin and Mike Tobin and James Caddigan and Matt Caddigan. It marks the first time since 2001 that UMass has had two sets of brothers on its active roster. Other Gorilla brothers include...

Bret Caretsky (2005-06) and PJ Caretsky (2005-06)
Jim Connolly (2006-09) and Ryan Connolly (2002-05)
Chris Gabrielli (1998-2001) and Keith Gabrielli (1998-2001)
Brendan Hegarty (2014-16) and Tyler Hegarty (2012)
John Hutchen (1997, '99, 2000) and Paul Hutchen (1999, 2001, '02)
Derek Kunkel (2001-02) and Rich Kunkel (1998-2001)
Anthony Reale (2016-2019) and Joe Reale (2006-09)
Ben Spencer (2016-19) and Devin Spencer (2017-2021)
Gene Tundo (2002-06) and Matt Tundo (2004)

Preseason Accolades

- Massachusetts had three individuals selected to the 2022 Preseason All-CAA Team. Midfielder Kevin Tobin, defenseman Sam Eisenstadt and goalkeeper Matt Knote represented UMass on the list of honorees.
- Tobin appeared in all 10 games in 2021 and made seven starts as a member of the first-line midfield or attack and was a 2021 Division 1 NEILA All New England Second Team honoree.
- Eisenstadt collected his second consecutive All-CAA Second Team accolade at close defense in 2021, as he also earned a spot in 2019. He registered the most groundballs among UMass defensemen (25) and caused seven turnovers as well.
- Knote is coming off a sophomore campaign that saw him post a 10.81 goals against average and a .536 save percentage over 10 games. The Speonk, N.Y., native also notched 14 groundballs and three caused turnovers in 2021, making 10 or more saves in eight games with 12+ in five outings. He was an All-CAA First Team and CAA All-Tournament Team selection last season while also earning a spot on the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Looking Ahead

- The Gorillas will return home to face Fairfield on Saturday, April 16 at 3:30 p.m and will then play their final road game of the regular season at Hofstra on Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m. UMass will then host Drexel on Friday, April 29, under the lights at Garber Field at 6 p.m. on Lax Sports Network.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

#20 Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse Heads To Towson In Search Of Sixth Straight Win

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Players Mentioned

Dillon Arrant

Sebo Birse

Tyler Bluse

Mason Bregman

Grant Breyo

James Caddigan

Matt Caddigan

Chris Connolly

John Crehan

Jackson Cummings

Kevin Cutinella

Sam Eisenstadt

Corey Frydman

Caleb Hammett

Matthew Hill

Zack Hochman

Brady Hoff

Tim Hoynes

Aidan Kaminska

Matt Knote

John Krisch

Logan Liljeberg

Sam Mattson

Shane O'Leary

Matthew Petitto

Gabriel Procyk

Owen Quinn

Anthony Reale

Zachary Relovsky

Anthony Sericolo

Jack Siebert

Ben Spencer

Devin Spencer

Kevin Tobin

Mike Tobin

Jeff Trainor

Coltrane Tyson

Jack Wittmaack

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