QU Men's Lacrosse Welcomes NJIT on Saturday for 3 PM Contest

Saturday, March 3

Hamden, CT

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

QU Men's Lacrosse Welcomes NJIT on Saturday for 3 PM Contest

3/1/2018 8:12:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

By: QU Athletic Communications

Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 3:00 PM
Quinnipiac Lacrosse Stadium | Hamden, Conn.
QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS (1-2) vs. NJIT HIGHLANDERS
Watch Live: Quinnipiac All-Access
Follow Live Stats: QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Updates: @QU_MLAX

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's lacrosse team will play its fourth straight home game to open the 2018 season when it entertains the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday at Quinnipiac Lacrosse Stadium.

LAST WEEK (VERMONT 10, QUINNIPIAC 5)
Quinnipiac fell into an early 5-0 hole against No. 17 Vermont and couldn't dig its way out as it dropped a 10-5 decision to the undefeated Catamounts on Saturday at Quinnipiac Lacrosse Stadium. The Bobcats trailed 3-0 after a first quarter which saw them rattle the post twice and get stopped on two other occasions from point blank range by Catamounts goalie Nick Washuta (15 saves). Freshman Jake Tomsik finally broke the ice midway through the second quarter, the first of his team-high two goals, to make the score 5-1, but the Bobcats were unable to get closer than four. Junior Matt Frost and Tomsik scored back-to-back goals to start the fourth quarter and pull Quinnipiac within 9-5, but the Bobcats were unable to sustain the momentum as Vermont kept them off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

LAST YEAR VS. NJIT (QUINNIPIAC 11-8)
Quinnipiac roared out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter, then held off a late NJIT rally to capture an 11-8 win over Highlanders last season, improving to 3-0 in the series. Brian Feldman and Ryan Corcoran each had hat tricks for the Bobcats in the win. NJIT got to within 8-7 midway through the third quarter and had several chances to tie, before Corcoran snapped a dry spell for the Bobcats with a man-up goal early in the fourth off a feed from Feldman (two assists) to restore a two-goal lead and Foster Cuomo and Feldman added back-to-back goals in the fourth to help seal it.

BOBCATS DEFEAT #17 BROWN FOR FIRST WIN IN NEW STADIUM
Quinnipiac fell behind 4-0 early, regrouped to take a 9-7 lead after three quarters, and then captured a dramatic 12-11 overtime win over No. 17 Brown on Saturday, Feb. 17 for its first-ever win at the new Quinnipiac Lacrosse Stadium. Junior attack Mike Fletcher had four goals and an assist, including the game-winning goal in overtime, an unassisted tally when he took the ball from behind the net on a restart, circled all the way around to the front, and buried a shot into the top corner. After the Bobcats went ahead 9-7, Brown started the fourth quarter on a 3-0 run to earn the lead back, but junior midfielder Matt Frost stopped the run with a tying goal. The Bears went ahead once again, but freshman Sam Witt knotted it up at 11-11 with just over four minutes left, and neither team could score during the rest of regulation. Senior Will Vitelli was 19-27 on face-offs, including the one to start the overtime session, leading to the game-winner.

FELDMAN ONE GOAL AWAY FROM CENTURY CLUB
Senior Brian Feldman enters the NJIT game on the cusp of an historic milestone. Feldman now has 99 goals in his career, needing just one more to reach the 100-goal mark (he has scored at least one goal in 23 of his last 24 games). Only three players in Quinnipiac history have scored 100 goals, and none in the last 16 years. Twin brothers Mike Baglio '02 (144) and Joe Baglio '02 (140) are the only Bobcats to score 100 goals entirely at the Division I level. Alan LoGiudice '01 (117) had 80 goals in Division I, and 37 as a freshman at Division II.

QUINNIPIAC TOP CAREER GOAL SCORERS
1   144    Mike Baglio '02
2   140 Joe Baglio '02
3   117 Alan LoGiudice '01
4 99    Brian Feldman '18
5 94 Ryan Keenan '16
6 88    Corey Pronsky '97
7   84    Michael Sagl '15
84    Andy Pelletier '04
9 79    Jack Oppenheimer '11
10   77    Dylan Webster '14

QUINNIPIAC 100-PONT CLUB
1.   207    Joe Baglio '02
2.   187   Mike Baglio '02
3.   183   Michael Sagl '15
4.   159    Alan LoGiudice '01
5.   131   Ryan Keenan '16
6.   126   Corey Pronsky '97
7.   124    John Giordano '03
8.   123    Andy Pelletier '04
9. 114 Brian Feldman '18
10. 109    Josh Murray '06
109 Jack Oppenheimer '11
12. 103   Dylan Webster '14
103 Frank DeRubeis, Jr. '96

A COLLECTION OF HAT TRICKS FOR FELDMAN
Entering his senior season, Brian Feldman has recorded hat tricks an impressive 17 different times, including the first four games to start last year. The Bobcats are now 11-6 overall in his career when he has three goals or more, which includes two wins over NJIT in 2016 and 2017, when he had three goals apiece.:

Brian Feldman Career Hat Tricks
2015
4G - March 7, 2015 at Hartford (L 10-9)
3G - March 21, 2015 vs. Detroit (W 13-12)
5G - March 31, 2015 vs. Stony Brook (L 17-9)
3G - April 23, 2015 at Air Force (W 12-10)
5G - April 30, 2015 vs. Detroit (W 16-9)
2016
3G - Feb. 27, 2016 at Bellarmine (W 12-6)
3G - March 5, 2016 vs. NJIT (W 9-7)
3G - March 12, 2016 at Hartford (W 11-10)
3G - March 26, 2016 vs. Siena (W 11-6)
5G - April 10, 2016 at Detroit (W 14-4)
7G - April 16, 2016 vs. Canisius (W 17-9)
2017
3G - Feb. 19, 2017 at Brown (L 9-25)
6G - Feb. 25, 2017 vs. Bellarmine (L 13-14)
3G - March 4, 2017 at NJIT (W 11-8)
4G - March 7, 2017 at Princeton (L 13-17)
4G - March 18, 2017 vs. Monmouth (L 7-8)
4G - April 1, 2017 at Manhattan (W 12-6)

FLETCHER, VITELLI, FROST EARN MAAC HONORS
Junior attack Mike Fletcher and senior face-off specialist Will Vitelli swept the MAAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards for the Bobcats after their win over Brown. Fletcher earned his after the four-goal, one-assist effort (see above), while Vitelli earned the defensive honor after dominating at the X, winning 19 of 27 face-offs on the day. Fletcher was also named to the USILA National Team of the Week for his efforts, and was one of four nominees for the Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week. Junior midfielder Matt Frost, a finance major who had two goals in the Brown win, was honored as the MAAC Male Student-Athlete of the Week, which highlights an athlete who excels in the classroom and who had an impact in his or her athletic competition over the previous week.

GREAT START FOR TOMSIK
Freshman attack Jake Tomsik was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 12 after a strong effort in his collegiate debut against UMass Lowell. Tomsik finished the game with four goals, scoring on all four of his shot attempts, and added an assist to classmate Sam Witt for the first goal ever scored at the new Quinnipiac Lacrosse Stadium. He added two more goals against both Brown and Vermont to start his career with three straight multi-goal games to lead the team in scoring (eight goals).

HOME, SWEET HOME
Quinnipiac is playing in a brand new 1,500-seat stadium this season, and earned its first win in the new facility with a 12-11 overtime victory against nationally ranked Brown (No. 17). A year ago, the Bobcats played all five home games at Yale, and lost the five games by a combined seven goals. The previous season, Quinnipiac won six games in a row on campus at its old facility, including a MAAC Championship win over Marist and an NCAA win over Hartford.

QUINNIPIAC NAMES 2018 CAPTAINS
Quinnipiac will have five seniors who will share the captain duties for the 2018 season, as announced in January by Head Coach Eric Fekete. Defenseman Riley Palmer, long-stick midfielder Adam Bellamy, and midfielders Blaise Buffalino, Ryan Corcoran and David Glynn will serve as team captains for their final collegiate seasons.

FOUR PLAYERS HONORED BY MAAC
The Bobcats had four players who were chosen to the Preseason All-MAAC team, which was released on Jan. 31. Junior Foster Cuomo and senior Riley Palmer were All-MAAC selections, while senior Adam Bellamy was the Preseason Long-Stick Midfielder of the Year and senior Will Vitelli was the Preseason Face-Off Specialist of the Year. As a team, the Bobcats were picked third behind preseason favorite and defending champion Monmouth in first and Marist in second.

SENIOR CLASS
If the Bobcats are to return to the form that earned them the 2016 MAAC Championship two years ago, it will be largely due to the leadership of a very large senior class. Last season, Quinnipiac had only four seniors, but this year, Senior Day ceremonies will take a little longer, with a total of 14 seniors on the roster.

SATURDAYS...IN THE PARK (OR STADIUM)
Quinnipiac fans can get used to Saturday afternoon lacrosse games at the school's brand new stadium. The Bobcats are at home on nine of the first Saturdays, with the NJIT game representing the fourth straight Saturday home contest to start the year. The nine Saturday stretch culminates with their home finale on Saturday, April 14 against Canisius. The schedule will also feature four doubleheaders with the Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team, including this weekend, when the women take on Sacred Heart at 12 noon, prior to the men's lacrosse team's game with NJIT.

NEW FACES BETWEEN THE PIPES
Fifth-year senior and captain Jack Brust graduated off last season's men's lacrosse team, opening the door for some new players to take over the goalkeeping role. Senior Carson Cocco, who had not played in his first three season, earned the opening day start against UMass Lowell and got the win in the second game of the season, a 12-11 overtime victory over No. 17 Brown. Cocco was out of action with an injury last week, and sophomore Joe Zukauskas, who started three games last season while Brust was injured, took over for his first start of the season. Zukauskas drew a late slashing penalty in the final minute, allowing freshman Brendan Engel to make his first appearance, and he stepped up with a save on Vermont's man-up opportunity in his college debut.

BOBCATS MAKE HISTORY IN 2016
The Bobcats had their most successful season in program history a year ago, sweeping the MAAC regular season and postseason titles with a perfect 8-0 record against conference foes, earning their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid, and picking up a win over Hartford in the NCAA preliminary round. The Bobcats are hoping to return to that form this year after missing the MAAC Tournament last spring.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will be on the road for the first time on Tuesday, when it travels to take on Fairfield for a 3 p.m. contest (note: game was moved from the original start time of 7 p.m.). The Bobcats will then be back at home next Saturday at 12 p.m. to take on Wagner.