Men's Lacrosse Ready for Home Opener Friday vs. UMass

Friday, February 13

Hamden, Conn.

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

UMass

Mason Oak MAAC Defensive Player of the Week (2/26/24)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Men's Lacrosse Ready for Home Opener Friday vs. UMass

2/12/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (1-0) vs. UMass (1-1)
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 | 2:00 PM
QU Lacrosse Stadium | Hamden, CT
Watch: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here

HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's lacrosse gets set for its 2026 home opener on Friday afternoon, as the Bobcats play host to UMass in non-conference action at 2:00 PM.

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS WIN OPENER AT UMASS LOWELL

Quinnipiac men's lacrosse began the 2026 campaign with a road win on Friday afternoon, battling to a 15-12 victory at UMass Lowell.
Nate Watson led the Bobcats with five goals and three assists for eight points. The junior scored three times in the first half, then found the back of the cage twice in the fourth quarter to help QU clinch a victory in its season opener.
Cole Marsala added three goals and one helper for four total points. He scored once in the first quarter, once in the second, and once in the fourth period of action.
Johnny Karafa added two goals for the Bobcats. He had eight goals last year for Quinnipiac, giving him 10 scores since the start of 2025.
Quinnipiac scored the first four goals of the contest. Ryan Downing registered the first goal of the new season, then Cole Marsala made it 2-0. Nate Watson then found the back of the cage two straight times to make it 4-0 QU.
The River Hawks battled back to cut the deficit to 6-5, then QU scored three more times to close the first half with a 9-5 advantage.
UMass Lowell battled back once again, scoring four straight times to open the second half and tie things 9-9. First-year Bobcat AJ Amandolare recorded his first collegiate goal to give QU a 10-9 lead at the end of the third quarter of action.
Quinnipiac then outscored UMass Lowell 5-3 in the fourth quarter – including a pair of goals for Nate Watson.

WATSON NAMED MAAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Quinnipiac men's lacrosse junior Nate Watson has been named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
Watson led the Bobcats with five goals and three assists for eight points during QU's season-opening win at UMass Lowell last weekend. The sophomore scored three times in the first half, then found the back of the cage twice in the fourth quarter to help QU clinch a road victory.

BOBCATS TABBED NO. 4 IN PRESEASON MAAC POLL

The Quinnipiac men's lacrosse program has been tabbed No. 4 in the 2026 Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, as revealed by the conference office on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. The Bobcats received 52 total points in the poll, finishing behind Siena, Marist and Sacred Heart, respectively.
Senior Luca Cutolo and graduate student Mason Oak were both selected for the Preseason All-MAAC Team, as well.
Cutolo earns a spot on the Preseason All-MAAC squad at the defensive midfield position. He played in 13 games last year, scooping up seven ground balls and forcing a pair of caused turnovers. He also scooped up 18 ground balls during the 2024 campaign as a sophomore.
Oak finds himself on the Preseason All-MAAC Team heading into his graduate campaign. The Bobcats' goalie was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 as a junior, making 15.4 saves per contest and tallying a 58.7% save percentage. Oak posted a 9-5 record during the 2024 season, registering double-digit save numbers in each game he played in. He followed up that effort with 12.93 saves per game last year in 2025 (ranked 9^th nationally). Oak tallied a 49.7% save percentage in front of the cage for the Bobcats a season ago.

KEY RETURNERS

The Bobcats will return former MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Mason Oak in front of the cage. Oak finished with 12.93 saves per game last year in 2025 (ranked 9^th nationally).
Quinnipiac also returns 10 of its top 11 scorers from a year ago – including both 40-point scorers: Nate Watson (45 points in 2025) and Justin Robbert (44 points in 2025).
Both Max Pauwels (102 FO wins) and Frank Mousa (40 FO wins) also return in the faceoff X for Quinnipiac.
Each of QU's top four players in caused turnovers are also back to help anchor the defensive unit: Ryan Downing, Nick Meoni, Tommy Andruzzi, Joe Konesco.

THE 2026 SCHEDULE

The Bobcats' spring 2026 schedule was released back in early December. QU's schedule features 14 games in total – with six contests set to be played at home in Hamden. Quinnipiac will open up the new season on the road, as the Bobcats will square off with UMass Lowell (2/7/26) for the first time since 2023.

HEAD COACH MASON POLI

Mason Poli, a former standout lacrosse player at Bryant University, enters his 12^th season on the Quinnipiac coaching staff in 2026. Poli completed his seventh season as Head Coach of the Bobcats in 2025.
After serving as an assistant for the Bobcats' program for four seasons (2015-18), Poli was elevated to Interim Head Coach for the 2019 season. He was then named Men's Lacrosse Head Coach on May 10, 2019, becoming the Bobcats' sixth head coach in program history and third at the Division I level.
QU has won 34 matchups in seven seasons since Poli took over as Head Coach.
In 2019 as Interim Head Coach, Poli led Quinnipiac men's lacrosse to a 9-7 (5-2 MAAC) record and the program's third-ever appearance in the MAAC Tournament championship contest. Poli led all first-year Division I head coaches in total wins (9) and winning percentage (.562) in 2019.

LAST YEAR (2025)

Quinnipiac men's lacrosse finished 2025 with a 2-6 record in MAAC play.
Head Coach Mason Poli and the Bobcats defeated Canisius on the road in the opening round of postseason play to advance to the MAAC Tournament semifinals.

For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's lacrosse program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MLAX or go to gobobcats.com/mlax.