Posted: Mar 20, 2009
The #4 Roanoke College men's lacrosse team will be taking on #8 Cabrini College this Saturday, March 21, at Cabrini. The Maroons are 8-0 so far this season, which broke the school-record previously held by the 1978 and 1979 teams. The 1978 team won the NCAA championship and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinal round in 1979. Game time is set for 1:00 pm.
Series Info
The Maroons are 1-1 against the Cavaliers, with a 17-6 win in 2006 and a 9-10 loss in 2008. The Maroons have outscored Cabrini 26-16.
Last Meeting
The men's lacrosse team started off the 2008 season by dropping their season-opener, 10-9 to #18 Cabrini at Donald J. Kerr Stadium this afternoon. It was the season-opener for both teams.
Four of Cabrini's 10 goals were scored with a man-up, taking advantage of their 12-4 advantage on extra man opportunities. Roanoke won the battle in ground balls, 63-44, 38-31 in shots and 45-42 in successful clear attempts.
Justin Tuma scored the first goal of the game, the season and of his career for Roanoke within the first minute off an assist from Pat March. After a Cabrini goal, Zach Thomas put the Maroons back on top off an assist from Billy Cameron at the 12-minute mark to make it, 2-1.
The Cavaliers scored six unanswered goals before Steve Furdock scored off a Chas Carlson assist just before the half to make it, 7-3.
The Maroons continued their momentum into the second half, scoring the first three goals to put them within one, 7-6 with 6:18 remaining in the third period. Cabrini scored the next two goals to end the quarter.
With just nine seconds into the final period, Furdock scored but was called off due to an equipment violation. The Cavs took advantage of the man up opportunity and scored to give them a 10-6 lead.
March scored two of the last three goals of the game to bring the Maroons to within one with 4:47 to go. With less than a minute to go, the Maroons caught yet another bad break as Mike Brennan got a tripping penalty with less than a minute to go, taking away their final chance for a scoring opportunity.
The Maroons outscored the Cavs, 6-3 in the second half, but couldn't ultimately overcome a 7-3 halftime deficit, suffering their first loss of the season.
Sam Love and Cameron had seven ground balls, including 7-of-10 on face-offs and an assist from Cameron. Furdock had one goal and five balls with three shots on goal for the Maroons.
March led the Maroons with two goals and an assist while Carlson and Tom Hammernick had two assists each. Josh Rea was 7-of-12 in face-offs and had three ground balls. Carlson moved into a tie for 33rd in career scoring with 104 for his career.
Jake Dorsey finished with 17 saves for Roanoke while Kevin Chenoweth had 12 for Cabrini.
Rich Romanelli led the Cavaliers with three goals while Matt McKinney had two goals and one assist. Scott Reimer had two assists on the afternoon to pace the Cavs.
Last Time on the Road (14-13 W at Dickinson)
CARLISLE, Pa. --- Roanoke College escaped with a 14-13 win over Dickinson on the road this afternoon. The win improved the Maroons to 7-0 on the season while the Red Devils slipped to 3-2.
In what was the closest game of the season, the Maroons tied the 1978 and 1979 teams for the best start in school-history. They are in elite company as the '78 team went on to win the College Division National Title and the '79 team advancing to the National Quarterfinals.
Roanoke was outshot for the first time this season, 52-43, but won the groundball battle, 42-38 in addition to winning 21-of-30 face-offs. The Maroons were successful in 21-of-27 clear attempts and converted all three of their man-up opportunities. They are now 4-1 all-time against Dickinson since 2000.
Roanoke struck first as Matt Quinton scored just three minutes in before the Devils with a pair of goals from B.J. West and Ward Gruppo to make it 2-1. The teams traded back-to-back goals twice to give the Devils a 6-5 advantage at the end of the first period. It was the first time all season the Maroons were behind after the first quarter.
The Red Devils closed out the first with back-to-back goals and started the second quarter with three-straight to take the biggest lead of the game, 9-5 at the 7:52 mark. It was the largest deficit the Maroons have faced all season.
Roanoke came alive, scoring the next six goals by five different players. Noah Gibby started the run with an unassisted goal and Trey Keeley's goal tied the contest at nine-all with 5:50 remaining in the half. Quinton and Chas Carlsons' goals came within seven seconds of each other to pull in front 11-9 with two minutes left. Bobby Kingsleyfound the net with 22-seconds left in the half to make the score 11-10 at the break.
The teams proved to be a little more conservative in the second half, but not before Ted Sirvaitistied the game just 35 seconds into the third quarter. Casey Finkelsteinand Chris Dodsonfinished a 4-0 run for the Devils to put them in front 13-11 with 3:56 remaining in the third period. Quinton scored his fifth and final goal of the day to pull the Maroons within one at the 1:35 mark heading into the final stanza.
Roanoke tied the game early in the fourth period as senior Zach Thomas scored just 50-seconds in for his second goal of the game. Junior Pat March came around the crease to net what would be the game-winning goal at the 11:16 mark in the final period.
That would be all the scoring on the day as senior goalie Nick Peck stopped eight shots in the final quarter to finish with 13 on the afternoon. He came in late in the second quarter and came up big in the second half. Senior Russell Matthewsmade 16 saves, including five in the fourth quarter. Sam Love and Stephen Simmons were big once again for the defense, collecting four groundballs each and forcing four and three caused turnovers, respectively.
Quinton's game-high five goals led the way for Roanoke in addition to an assist. Brian Foley netted two goals and added an assist including seven groundballs. Thomas finished with two goals which puts him second all-time in career shots at Roanoke while Justin Tuma won 13-of-17 face-offs and controlled nine ground balls. Greg Khanzadian collected four groundballs and won 7-of-11 face-offs.
Sirvaitis led a balanced Dickinson attack with two goals and a pair of assists. Phil Caputo added two goals while Dodson tallied a goal and two assists. Chris Breslinand Al Golodanchored a solid defensive effort, each with five ground balls. John Haireturned in a strong performance as well, causing three turnovers.
Scouting the Cavaliers
The Cabrini College Cavaliers are 4-2this season so far, and are ranked eighth nationally, according to the USILA coaches poll. They are 3-0 at home, with the only losses coming on the road at Lynchburg and Gettysburg. Both teams are nationally-ranked.
Cabrini dropped just its second game of the 2009 season March 18 at No. 18 Gettysburg College. Junior attackman Casey Grugan posted four points on two goals and two assists in the loss. Senior defenseman Jeff Moore scooped a team-high six groundballs, moving into first-place all-time on the Cavaliers' career list.
About the Maroons
The Maroons come into this game with a record of 7-0, their best start since the 1978 and 1979 seasons. With a win against Richard Stockton, they will have the best season opening record in school history. The Maroons also enter this week with a #4 ranking on both the USILA coaches poll and the laxpower.com poll. Roanoke is led offensively by Matt Quinton with 25 goals, 33 points, 56 shots, 40 shots on goal and five man-up goals. Chas Carlson's 11 assists also leads the Maroons. Justin Tuma's 44 groundballs, Greg Khanzadian's 68 face-off wins and Jake Dorsey's 69 saves anchors the defense.
Roanoke has raced to an 8-0 overall start, scoring 20-plus goals in six games. The Maroons list fourth nationally in points per game (32.29), scoring offense (20.43) and scoring margin (+11.86). Roanoke opened the 2009 season ranked No. 9 by the USILA.
Coach Pilat
Coach Bill Pilat enters his 21st on the Roanoke College sidelines where he has accumulated over 50 percent of the men's lacrosse program wins. Pilat is the winningest coach in school history with over 100 more wins than Paul Griffin (1973-81), who is second all-time at Roanoke. His win percentage of .663 is also the best in the history of the lacrosse program.
Pilat has earned his 200th win and is only the 13th coach in NCAA Division III to win 200 games. He is ranked among the top-20 all-time in win percentage. He is currently seventh among active coaches in career wins and 15th in win percentage. The longtime coach reigns among the best in ODAC History, ranked second in career wins and first in win percentage. A three-time VaSID coach of the Year (2005-07), Pilat is ranked second in state history in wins and first in win percentage as well (college division).
Roanoke/Cabrini Game Will Be Live on Webcats/Live Stats
The Cabrini men's lacrosse game versus Roanoke College will be available for fans to follow via live stats and live video/audio. Cavaliers' fans can access the live stats and live video/audio on the CabriniAthletics'.com or men's lacrosse home page, as well as the men's lacrosse schedule page by clicking on the “Details” link.
