Former Conference Foe #6 Rutgers Visits Massachusetts Men's Lacrosse On Saturday

Game 7	Massachusetts (4-2, 0-0 A-10) vs. #6 Rutgers (6-1, 0-0 B1G)
Date \| Time	Saturday, March 18, 2023 \| 1:00 p.m.
Location	Garber Field \| Amherst, Mass.
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	ESPN+
Series History	UMass leads 18-0 Last: Massachusetts 11, Rutgers 10 (OT) – ECAC Championship Piscataway, N.J. \| May 2, 2009
Twitter	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassMLacrosse
Instagram	UMass Men's Lacrosse
Tickets	Saturday

Against Rutgers

- Massachusetts is 18-10 all-time against Rutgers with Saturday marking the first meeting between the squads since the ECAC Championship game on May 2, 2009, a 11-10 overtime victory for the Gorillas at Rutgers. The three most recent matchups between UMass and the Scarlet Knights have been decided by one goal with Rutgers winning in its last trip to Amherst, 7-6 on May 3, 2008. The series between Massachusetts and the Scarlet knights began in Amherst on April 16, 1977, a 12-11 win for the Gorillas.

Where UMass Stacks Up

- UMass is currently sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 8.50 goals per-game, first in the Atlantic 10. The Gorillas are also first in the A-10 in saves per-game, 14.50, 13^th nationally.
- Massachusetts ranks 12^th nationally in man-down defense at .750, second in the A-10.
- Senior Matt Knote sits second nationally in save percentage (.629), fifth in goals-against average (8.32) and 13^th in saves per-game (13.83).

A Knote-Worthy Performance

- Senior goalkeeper Matt Knote collected a host of accolades after UMass' win over Army on Feb. 11.
- Knote was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Division I Player of the Week, to the USILA Division I Team of the Week and earned the first-ever Atlantic 10 Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week.
- The Speonk, New York, native made 19 saves and picked up the win in a 10-8 victory over Army at Garber Field, also collecting four ground balls. He made 11 stops in the first half and allowed just one goal. The win marked the first for UMass vs. Army since 2014, ending a streak of seven straight wins by the Black Knights.

Knote Honored Again

- Goalkeeper Matt Knote was selected as the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week on March 13, earning the honor for the second time this season after helping the Gorillas to a pair of road wins over UAlbany (9-6) and Vermont (12-4).
- Knote posted a 4.15 goals against average and a .771 save percentage on the week, making 27 saves over the two games and collecting five ground balls. He had 15 stops on 21 shots on goal vs. UAlbany then followed up with 12 saves on 14 shots at Vermont.

To Quickly Recap

- In a game that began as a 1-0 defensive battle through the first quarter, Massachusetts men's lacrosse pulled away from Vermont, outscoring the Catamounts 9-1 over the next two periods to secure a 12-4 victory at Virtue Field last Saturday afternoon.
- In an all-around team effort, UMass had 10 individuals register at least one point with nine different goal scorers. Senior Mike Tobin paced the gorillas with a career day, tying his career single-game bests with five points and three assists to go along with two goals. Senior Carter Castillo set a career high with four points on two goals and two assists. Graduate student Gabriel Procyk logged two tallies to extend his streak to five straight multi-goal games.
- Jake Harrington had two goals for UVM, the lone Catamounts player with multiple points on the day. Jackson Canfield registered a game-high five ground balls and had two caused turnovers for Vermont.
- The Catamounts finished the day with a 40-34 advantage in shots and edged UMass in ground balls, 18-17. The Gorillas were 0-for-2 in extra man opportunities, while successfully holding UVM to an 0-for-7 day on the man-up.
- Massachusetts senior Matt Knote made 12 saves on 14 shots on net before being relieved by Tyler Bluse (4 saves, 2 goals allowed). Redshirt sophomore Caleb Hammett won 12 of 17 faceoffs on the day for the Maroon & White. George Egan logged eight saves between the pipes for the Catamounts.

Minutemen Milestones

- With a hat trick against Albany, Gabriel Procyk moved into sole possession of seventh all-time in program history for career goals. Currently with 112 to his credit, Procyk is two from passing Kevin Patterson (1975-77) for sixth. Procyk is the program record holder in man-up goals with 23.
- Freshman Aiden Drunsic scored his first collegiate goal against Yale on March 3. Freshman Zach Auble registered his first career point vs. Army on Feb. 11 with an assist. Redshirt sophomore Jack Wittmaack picked up his first career goal at Vermont on March 11.

Challenging Road Ahead

- UMass' 2023 schedule features six matchups against 2022 NCAA Tournament teams and three more against squads that reached the conference championship games in their respective leagues.
- The Gorillas have six games on the slate against teams that were ranked in the preseason Top-20 USILA and Inside Lacrosse polls: #14 Boston University, #8/7 Yale, #10/9 Rutgers, #16 Brown, #13/15 Saint Joseph's and #19/20 Richmond.

Back For More

- The Gorillas have four players on this year's roster entering their fifth seasons with the Maroon & White: midfielder Jack Gump, attack Gabriel Procyk, midfielder Tim Hoynes and attack Jackson Cummings.
- Procyk was second on the team in goals (26) and third in points (33). He is the leading active career points scorer with 134 points over 52 career games.

Out Of The Portal

- UMass has added five transfers to the squad ahead of the 2023 campaign: defenseman Giuseppe Chiovera from NJIT, defenseman Chris Campbell from Hartford and LIU, midfielder Will Abbott from Quinnipiac, attack Conor Foley from UMass Lowell and defenseman Ryan Sharkey from Canisius.
- Abbott and Sharkey are graduate transfers, Campbell and Foley are seniors and Chiovera is a sophomore.
- Sharkey was a two-time All-MAAC selection at Canisius (second team 2021, first team 2022).

Hammett & O'Leary Look To Build Off Breakout 2022 Campaigns

- Redshirt sophomores Caleb Hammett and Shane O'Leary are looking to build off stellar seasons as redshirt freshmen in 2022.
- Hammett was an All-CAA First Team and All-CAA Rookie Team selection in 2022. He appeared in all 14 games and went 185-for-301 (.615) over X, leading the CAA in faceoff percentage and ranking fifth in the nation. The Hanover, Massachusetts native also paced the league in ground balls per-game (8.50) and ranked sixth nationally. He finished the 2023 campaign with 119 ground balls on the year.
- O'Leary was named to the All-Rookie Team after registering 16 points over 13 games on 14 goals and two assists during the regular season with 24 ground balls and four caused turnovers. The Byfield, Massachusetts, native opened the 2022 season with a hat trick at Army, tallying the first three goals of his career. He also put up three points (2g, 1a) at Yale and scored a pair of goals in a 12-9 win over UAlbany as both games were part of a six-game goal scoring streak for the midfielder. He finished the 2022 campaign ranked sixth on the squad with 17 points on 14 goals and three assists.

Welcome To The Troop

- Massachusetts has 10 first-year players on its roster this season: midfielder Zach Auble (Burlington, Mass.), face off specialist TJ Casey (Medfield, Mass.), attack Aiden Drunsic (Exeter, N.H.), defender Russ Hutchinson (Marblehead, Mass.), midfielder Brian Jackman (Oakville, Ontario), defenseman Zander Johnson (Downers Grove, Ill.), midfielder Liam Maher (Melrose, Mass.), goalkeeper Ryan Mazzariello (Watervliet, N.Y.), defenseman Kyle Swanson (Evanston, Ill.) and defenseman Rob Travers (Wycoff, N.J.).

Leading The Way

- Graduate student defenseman Jack Gump, senior goalkeeper Matt Knote and senior midfielder Mike Tobin have been named team captains for the 2023 season.
- Tobin logged 28 points on 13 goals and 15 assists in 2022 as a junior, finishing fourth on the team in scoring and earning a NEILA All-New England Second Team nod.

Preseason Accolades

- Senior defenseman Chris Campbell and senior goalkeeper Matt Knote were named to the inaugural Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team. The duo was also selected to the NEILA All-New England Preseason teams alongside redshirt sophomore faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett.
- The Gorillas were picked third in the preseason poll with 20 points, while Richmond was selected as the preseason favorite (33 points) with Saint Joseph's in second (29). Behind UMass, High Point (19), Hobart (18) and St. Bonaventure (7) round out the poll in fourth, fifth and sixth.
- Campbell comes UMass from LIU where he was an All-NEC first team and NEC All-Tournament Team honoree in 2022 after starting 14 games, collecting 31 ground balls and forcing 19 turnovers. The Shrewsbury, Massachusetts native previously spent two seasons at Hartford where he earned an America East All-Rookie Team nod in 2019. He started all 21 games for the Hawks over the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
- Knote started all 14 games of his junior season in 2022, logging an 8-6-0 record with an 11.07 goals against average and a .527 save percentage, making 173 stops between the pipes to garner his second consecutive First Team All-CAA nod. The Speonk, New York native finished the 2022 regular season as the CAA leader in GAA and save percentage, while ranking second in saves per-game.
- Knote currently ranks 10th all-time in the UMass record book in career saves (462) and holds a career save percentage of .545 and a goals-against average of 10.47 over 2205 minutes in net.
- Hammett was an All-CAA First Team and All-CAA Rookie Team selection in 2022. He appeared in all 14 games and went 185-for-301 (.615) over X, leading the CAA in faceoff percentage and ranking fifth in the nation. The Hanover, Massachusetts native also paced the league in ground balls per-game (8.50) and ranked sixth nationally. He finished the 2023 campaign with 119 ground balls on the year.

Looking Ahead

- Coming off Saturday's matchup with No. 6 Rutgers, UMass will host Brown on Saturday, March 25, at 1 p.m. to close out the non-conference slate.
- The Atlantic 10 opener is set for Saturday, April 1 against High Point at noon on Garber Field. The Gorillas will then travel to Richmond for an A-10 meeting with the Spiders on Saturday, April 8, at 11:30 a.m. and will return home to face St. Bonaventure on Saturday, April 15, at 1 p.m.

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