The UMBC men's lacrosse team will see action for the third time in a week when they travel to Easton, Pa. to take on the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, April 9. Face-off time at Fisher Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Live stats will be available via www.umbcretrievers.com and fans can also follow via the men's lacrosse program's Twitter feed (UMBC_MLacrosse). Access is also available via UMBC Front Row, UMBC Athletics' mobile website.
UMBC Update
-The UMBC men's lacrosse team battled 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins to a near standstill through 30 minutes, but the Blue Jays wore down the Retrievers (1-6) and prevailed, 19-7, before a season-high 1,362 fans at UMBC Stadium.
-Hopkins led from the start, but the Retrievers closed to 4-3 after one quarter and 7-6 at halftime. UMBC senior attackman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary's) scored all three of his goals in the first half as the Retrievers converted on six of 13 shots attempts in the first 30 minutes.
-Despite the best efforts of junior goalkeeper Ruston Souder (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake), making his first start of the season, the Blue Jays took decided control of the face-off circle in the fourth quarter and outscored UMBC, 8-0, in the frame to earn the decided advantage. Souder stopped 16 JHU shots, one shy of his career high of 17, which he recorded versus Lafayette in 2015.
-Lewnes' six-goal, seven-point effort, recorded versus Stony Brook on March 26, is one shy of his career best seven-goal, eight-point effort at Vermont in April of 2014. After posting a hat trick versus Hopkins, he now has recorded 11 career games with three or more goals. Lewnes is now tied for 16th on UMBC's all-time goals list with 87 and 28th on the all-time scoring chart with 110 career points.
-Junior attackman Max Maxwell added a goal and two assists for UMBC, while freshman linemate Jack Andrews also scored in double figures, netting a goal and adding a helper. Sophomore defender Billy O'Hara led the Retrievers with six ground balls, while causing two Hopkins turnovers.
-Despite having played only four of seven games, Lewnes leads UMBC with 11 goals scored. Maxwell is the club leader with 19 points (8g, 11a), while Gannon also paces the squad with 11 helpers. Senior defender Zach Esser is 12th in the nation with 1.71 caused turnovers per game and his 68 CT's are second all-time to Mike Camardo, '10 (87).
-Head Coach Don Zimmerman enters his 23rd season at UMBC and his 30th as a collegiate head coach. Amongst Division I head coaches, the Retriever mentor stood eighth with 233 victories and is 17th in winning percentage at .591 entering the 2016 campaign. In the all-time coaching annuals of Division I lacrosse, Zimmerman is 26th in total victories.
-Zimmerman piloted the Retrievers to four consecutive NCAA Division I tournament appearances from 2006-09, a feat accomplished for the first time in the school's Division I lacrosse history.
-Zimmerman was named America East Conference Coach of the Year by his colleagues in both 2008 and 2009. The Retriever mentor was the 2008 Coach of the Year in LaxPower men's lacrosse Fan Awards, He led UMBC to its first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999.
Zimmerman's Records
Career Record: 234-167 (30th season)
at UMBC: 161-152 (23rd season)
Scouting the Leopards
-Lafayette (1-7) has dropped six straight since a 12-7 victory over Wagner in late February. Junior attackman Kevin Lewis returned from a four-game absence and posted three goals and an assist for the Lafayette men's lacrosse team on March 26 at Fisher Field. Unfortunately, he didn't get much help as the Leopards fell to Boston U. by a 16-6 score. The x certainly was a factor on the afternoon as Boston U. won 21 of the 26 face-offs, including losing just twice in 17 chances over the first three quarters.
-Senior Ben Falcone has been excellent between the pipes this season, especially when considering the team started three freshmen on their top defensive line in the first three games. Falcone has made double-digit saves in five of the Leopards' eight games, holding a 12.04 GAA and a .463 save percentage. Lafayette's offense had a tough time finding the back of the net in the month of March. The Leopards averaged 5.4 goals per contest compared to 12.8 per game from their opponents.
-Junior attackman Eric Joseph (19g, 4a) and classmate/linemate Jason Sands (3g, 18a) are enjoying productive offensive campaigns for the Leopards. Joseph scored a pair of goals versus UMBC in last season's encounter.
The series, Etc.
–The Retrievers scored 13 second half goals en route to an 18-7 victory over Lafayette before 712 fans at UMBC Stadium on March 27, 2015. In addition to Souder's excellent work between the pipes, Gannon scored a career-high four goals to lead the hosts. Maxwell added two goals and one assist for UMBC, while Lewnes posted a hat trick.
-Last year's game was just the second contested between UMBC and Lafayette. The Retrievers won the earlier meeting, 16-3, in a game played at Villanova University in 1988.
Up Next
-UMBC returns to America East play one week from Saturday, as they host the Hartford Hawks on Saturday, April 9. The opening face-off is slated for noon.
