Quinnipiac Heads to Merrimack to Begin Postseason Action on Sunday

Sunday, April 26

North Andover, MA

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Merrimack

MLAX Team Pregame vs. Mount St. Mary's (4/11/26 in Hamden, CT)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Quinnipiac Heads to Merrimack to Begin Postseason Action on Sunday

4/25/2026 7:57:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

#5 Bobcats Battle #4 Warriors at 1:00 PM on 4/26

By: QU Athletic Communications

#5 Quinnipiac (5-9, 4-4 MAAC) at #4 Merrimack (6-8, 5-3 MAAC)
Sunday, April 26, 2026 | 1:00 PM
Duane Stadium | North Andover, Mass.
Watch: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Quinnipiac men's lacrosse begins postseason action on Sunday, April 26, as the Bobcats are set to travel to Merrimack in the opening round of the 2026 MAAC Championship.

SCOUTING MERRIMACK

The Warriors enter at 6-8 overall, going 5-3 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed in the MAAC Tournament. Merrimack has won four consecutive contests heading into Sunday's contest.
Colin Kruger leads Merrimack in goals (33) and total points (39) for the season. Jack Salva has chipped in with 22 goals, while Finn Dougherty has 21 goals.
The Warriors rank 5^th in scoring offense in the MAAC, and also 5^th in scoring defense.
The Bobcats won the regular season matchup between the two teams back on March 25 in North Andover. Four different Bobcats registered a multi-goal effort in the win. Nate Watson led the offensive charge with three goals and an assist, while Duncan Zielke, Johnny Karafa and Nick Meoni all scored twice. Goalie Evan Miner made 14 saves, including nine during the second half of action.
QU is 2-2 over the last four seasons against Merrimack. The road team has won all four meetings since 2023.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Quinnipiac has captured four total MAAC weekly awards this season.
Junior Nate Watson was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 9, 2026 following Quinnipiac's season-opening win at UMass Lowell.
Senior goalie Evan Miner earned the league's Defensive Player of the Week honors on April 6, 2026 after helping lead the Bobcats past nationally-ranked Sacred Heart.
Both Max Pauwels (Faceoff Player of the Week) and Duncan Zielke (Rookie of the Week) then captured league honors on April 20, 2026 following a road victory at Iona.

BALANCED ATTACK

Seven different Quinnipiac players have registered double-digit point totals in 2026.
Junior Nate Watson leads the Bobcats' offensive attack with 37 goals and 11 assists for 48 total points. He has 24 goals over eight MAAC games.
Cole Marsala ranks second on the team in scoring with 47 points via 24 goals and 23 helpers. Marsala recorded a team-high eight points during QU's latest win vs. Iona.
Justin Robbert is up over 20 points for the season, as well, with 10 goals and 12 assists.

MAN-UP ADVANTAGE

Quinnipiac leads the MAAC and ranks No. 4 nationally in man-up offense (54.2%). QU has scored on 13-of-24 opportunities on the advantage.

CAUSED TURNOVERS

The Bobcats also lead the league in caused turnovers per game (9.07), a number that ranks No. 13 nationally.

CLEARING SUCCESS

QU leads the MAAC in clearing percentage, as well – posting a 90.1% success rate.

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS FALL vs. MANHATTAN (4/22)

Despite a multi-goal performance from Johnny Karafa and Duncan Zielke, the Quinnipiac men's lacrosse team dropped its regular-season finale to Manhattan, 10-9, in overtime on Wednesday afternoon at the QU Lacrosse Stadium.
Johnny Karafa led the Bobcats with two goals, both coming on extra-man opportunities. He's up to 10 goals for the season, and has tallied three multi-goal contests in 2026.
Duncan Zielke also found the back of the net twice to help fuel a third-quarter surge. The first-year Bobcat has 15 goals over seven games played.
Cole Marsala continued his productive season, tallying three points on one goal and two assists.

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 39 matchups in seven-plus 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.