Men's Lacrosse Challenges Mount St. Mary's In Sunday's NEC Championship Game
5/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
2011 Northeast
Conference Men's Lacrosse Tournament Championship Game
No. 2 Quinnipiac
University Bobcats (7-6, 4-1 NEC) at
No. 1 Mount St.
Mary's University Mountaineers (8-6, 4-1 NEC)
Sunday, May 8, 2011 - 1 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium - Emmitsburg,
Md.
Photos of QU in NEC Semi-Finals
Bobcats Challenge The Mount In NEC
Tournament Championship
The second-seeded Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse
team challenges top-seeded Mount St. Mary's in Sunday's Northeast
Conference Tournament Championship Game at Waldron Family Stadium.
The game is set for a 1 p.m. start. The Bobcats earned a thrilling
12-11 double-overtime victory against No. 3 Robert Morris on Friday
evening, while Mount St. Mary's solved No. 4 Bryant, 14-9, in the
nightcap. The Mountaineers took the first meeting of the year
against QU, 16-10, April 16 in Hamden. The Mount leads the all-time
series, 4-1, including a win in the 2001 MAAC Championship
Game.
Scouting the Mount St. Mary's
University Mountaineers
The Mount is led by Andrew Scalley, whose 33 goals, 13
assists and 46 points are all team highs. Brett Schmidt is close
behind with 31 goals, 13 assists and 44 points. Cody Lehrer has
also added 32 goals and nine assists. Ben Trapp is the Mount's
primary face-off man, winning 57.0 percent (191-335), which has led
to a team-high 96 ground balls. T.C. DiBartolo has seen the
majority of time in net for the Mountaineers, compiling a 10.73
goals-against average and a .522 save percentage.
Follow The Game Live
Free live video, audio and stats will be available for
Sunday's NEC Tournament Championship Game. The Pack Network will
provide live video at northeastconference.tv, while QBSN will have
the live audio call. Host Mount St. Mary's will provide live stats.
Links to all media are available on the men's lacrosse schedule at
www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.
All-NEC Third Team
Left off the All-NEC First and Second Teams, Jack
Oppenheimer and Kevin Benzing demonstrated their value in Friday's
NEC Semifinals against Robert Morris. Benzing made 13 saves,
including five in the first overtime, and caused the turnover the
led the Bobcats' break to tie the game in the final seconds of
regulation. Oppenheimer scored five goals and added an assist. His
natural hat trick in the final three minutes of regulation sent the
game to overtime.
Haggerty Moves Up QU Career Assists
List
In just two years at Quinnipiac, Christian Haggerty ranks
fourth all-time in program history with 44
assists.
'Cats Scratch Back
Down 11-8 with less than three minutes remaining in
regulation, Quinnipiac stormed back to down Robert Morris, 12-11,
in double-overtime of the NEC Tournament Semifinals. Jack
Oppenheimer registered a natural hat trick in the final 2:50 of
regulation and Kevin Benzing caused a pivotal turnover and made
five first-overtime saves.
Causing Havoc
A year after finishing fifth in the nation in caused
turnovers per game (10.21), the Bobcats opened the week ranking
fourth among NCAA D-I teams at 10.25. Jake Glebocki has led the way
with 1.83 CT/gm. (15th-NCAA).
Bobby Schnibbe: That's Fun To Say
...and his name has been called quite often this season.
He's picked up a team-high 60 ground balls, ninth-most in a single
season by a Quinnipiac player in program history.
Benz, But Don't Break
Senior goalie Kevin Benzing has been particularly stingy
this season, making 10.08 saves per game (22nd-NCAA) while
maintaining a .522 save percentage (33rd-NCAA) and a 9.51
goals-against average (35th-NCAA).
Oppenheimer Climbs Quinnipiac Career
Goals List
Jack Oppenheimer's 79 career goals rank sixth in
Quinnipiac history.
Hagg of a Streak
Christian Haggerty has recorded at least one point in each
of his 27 games in the blue and gold. The 27 games rank 20th among
active point streaks in the nation.
Benzing Grabs Second In Saves
With 19 saves against Holy Cross March 5, Kevin Benzing
passed Mike Sturmer '99 (428) for second all-time at QU. He now
stands at 523, 105 behind the all-time leader at Quinnipiac, T.J.
Barnett '04 (628).
Bobcats Grab Share of NEC Regular
Season Championship
With a win in the final week of the season at Wagner and a
Mount St. Mary's double-overtime defeat to Bryant, Quinnipiac
claimed a share of the inaugural NEC Men's Lacrosse Regular Season
Championship. By virtue of the Mountaineers' 16-10 victory against
QU on April 16, Mount St. Mary's took the tie-breaker and the right
to host the NEC Tournament.
Postseason Tournaments: Nothing New
To QU
Quinnipiac is making its third postseason conference
tournament appearance in as many chances. QU faced Notre Dame as
the No. 4 seed in both the 2008 and 2009 Great Western Lacrosse
League semifinals, while ECAC Lacrosse did not sponsor a tournament
in 2010, when QU finished third in the
league.
Basil's Five-Goal Flavor
Basil Kostaras erupted for a career-high five goals in the
Bobcats' 16-10 victory at Wagner on April 30. His previous career
high was two, established four times this season.
Oppenheimer Reaches 100-Point
Plateau
With a six-point effort at Wagner, Jack Oppenheimer
eclipsed the 100-point plateau for his career. He joins just eight
other Quinnipiac players in the 20-year history of the program to
register 100 career points.
SHU Don't Bother Me
Jack Oppenheimer led the Bobcats' 18-9 thumping of
intrastate NEC rival Sacred Heart with a career-high seven-point
day on April 23. The senior did his damage on Senior Day, becoming
the first QU player since 2002 to total as many as seven points in
a single game.
Alessi Is More
Senior Billy Alessi compiled his second career hat trick
with three goals against Sacred Heart on Senior Day, April 23. His
first came April 1 at Bryant.
Webster Wins Sixth NEC Rookie of the
Week
Dylan Webster won his league-leading sixth NEC Rookie of
the Week award after totaling three goals and two assists against
Sacred Heart on April 23. Webster also scooped up five ground balls
and won 11-of-21 face-offs.
Benzing Takes Third NEC Honor
Kevin Benzing won his third NEC Defensive Player of the
Week honor on April 25 after stopping 10-of-14 shots on goal
against Sacred Heart. He also grabbed five ground balls and caused
one turnover.
Tricky Trio
Kevin Kelly, Christian Haggerty and Jack Oppenheimer each
registered hat tricks against Robert Morris on April 9. Kelly
scored a team-high five goals, while Haggerty and Oppenheimer had
three goals each.
A Goalie's Revenge
After being peppered with 1,431 shots in his four-year
Quinnipiac career, senior goalie Kevin Benzing unleashed his first
career shot, a full-field heave that found the back of the net on
the fly, April 9 against Robert Morris.
NEC Honors Kelly, Webster
The Northeast Conference named Kevin Kelly and Dylan
Webster its player and rookie of the week, respectively, on April
11. Kelly scored five goals against Robert Morris, while Webster
scored a goal, added three assists, won all 10 of his face-offs,
scooped up seven ground balls and caused two turnovers. The award
was the first of the season for Kelly and the fifth for
Webster.
Wilbur's Game-Winner
Seeing just his second game action of the year, sophomore
Brendan Wilbur scored twice, including the game-winning goal as
time expired, Apr. 1 at Bryant. Wilbur had scored just once before
in his career, Mar. 4, 2010, against Wagner. He proved it was not a
fluke, scoring twice more and adding an assist, Apr. 9 against
Robert Morris.
Do We Call Him A Rookie of the Year
Candidate At This Point?
Dylan Webster was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of
the Week for the fourth time in five weeks after scoring an
improbable goal against Bryant. After getting the ball checked out
of his stick, Webster recollected and shot it past two defenders
and the Bryant goalie to give QU a late 12-10
advantage.
Career-High For Coppolecchia
Chris Coppolecchia scooped up a career-high seven ground
balls, March 26 at UMBC.
Webster Wins Again...And Again
Dylan Webster was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of
the Week for the third straight week, March 21. The freshman
midfielder had a goal and an assist against Hartford, March 19, a
week after tallying two goals in the Bobcats' 9-3 win at
Providence, March 12. He began the stretch with three goals and an
assist against Holy Cross, March 5.
Benzing Takes Second NEC Defensive
Player of the Week
Kevin Benzing was named the NEC Defensive Player of the
Week for the second time in three weeks on March 21. The senior
goalie made 12 saves on 22 chances in the Bobcats' 10-9 overtime
loss to Hartford.
Hat Trick Twosome
Kevin Kelly and Christian Haggerty each compiled hat
tricks against Hartford. Kelly now has five hat tricks for his
four-year career, while Haggerty has four in his two years at
QU.
Second Half Lockdown
QU outscored Providence, 6-0, in the second half on March
12. After the teams were deadlocked at 3-3 following the first
half, Quinnipiac scored goals on six of seven shots on goal, while
Bobcats goalie Kevin Benzing stopped all five shots on goal he saw
in the second half.
Good Things Come In Three's
Kevin Kelly tallied a career-high six points on three
goals and three assists, March 12, at
Providence.
NEC Recognizes Benzing, Webster
The Northeast Conference recognized Kevin Benzing and
Dylan Webster as its defensive player and rookie of the week,
respectively, on March 7. Benzing made 31 saves in two games,
including 19 in the Bobcats' 10-5 victory against Holy Cross.
Webster scored three goals and added an assist against Holy
Cross.
New To The NEC
With Bryant becoming eligible for postseason play in 2011,
the Northeast Conference now has six men's lacrosse-playing
institutions and has officially become a men's lacrosse league. QU
joins Bryant, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and
Wagner.
Crazy Eight
Quinnipiac finished 2010 eighth in the nation in ground
balls per game (35.57).
20/20
Christian Haggerty became just the fourth player in
Quinnipiac history to compile a 20-goal, 20-assist season with 20
goals and 25 assists last year. Haggerty joined Joe Baglio (49 G,
29 A in 2001) as the only other Quinnipiac player with a 20-20
season at Division I, while Brian Perry (33 G, 25 A in 1998) and
P.J. Gillard (24 G, 21 A in 1995) achieved the feat at the Division
II level.
Glad To Have You
Christian Haggerty led the Bobcats in points (45), with 20
goals and 25 assists in 2010. His assist total tied for second on
the QU single-season list, tied with Brian Perry in 1998. Haggerty
was the first Bobcat to reach as many as 17 assists in a season
since both Joe Baglio (29) and Jeff Speed (24) did so in
2001.
Oppenheimer Goals: The Right Way To
Score
With 32 goals last season, Jack Oppenheimer led the
Bobcats and moved into 10th all-time on the Quinnipiac
single-season chart. Oppenheimer's 66 career goals rank ninth
all-time at Quinnipiac.
