POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 10, 2015) – The Vassar College men's lacrosse team will return to Liberty League competition on Saturday, April 11 to face the No. 2 Rochester Institute of Technology at 12 pm.
 
Game Details
Opponent: RIT (12-0, 3-0 LL)
Links:  (Drew Men's Lacrosse Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Rochester, NY
Facility: Tiger Stadium
Date: April 11, 2015
Time: 12:00 pm  
Coverage: (Live Stats) 
 
Last Time Out
Sophomores Sam Houston-Read (Waban, MA/Newton South) and Chris Billups (Watchung, NJ/Oratory Preparatory) led the way with three goals each, while six other Brewers broke into the scoring column as Vassar blew past Drew University 15-6 Tuesday evening.
 
A Look at the Tigers (12-0, 3-0 Liberty League)
RIT enters Saturday's contest undefeated and as the second ranked team in the country. The Tigers are one year removed from winning the Liberty League Championship and earning a trip to the NCAA semifinals where the team eventually fell to Tufts University. RIT is 32-1 over the past two seasons, and is currently the top ranked team in the nation in scoring offense (17.5 GPG), points per game (29.36) and assists per game (11.82). Head coach Jake Coon won his 100^th career game in RIT's last game besting Nazareth College 15-10 on April 7. Coon is the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in Division III history and quickest to do so with one team since legendary Salisbury head coach Jim Berkman.
 
The high-powered Tiger attack is headlined by sophomore Ryan Lee, who ranks second in the Liberty League in points per game (4.18) on 31 goals and 19 assists. Senior Brad Gillies leads RIT in assists this year, posting 26 in 12 games while adding eight goals. Freshman Jake Quay and sophomore Steven Ricci have taken the bulk of the faceoffs for the Tigers, helping the team to a 55.4% clip on restarts this season. Senior Pat Johnston has started in goal all 12 games for the Tigers, holding a .595 save percentage and a 8.35 GAA.
 
Against RIT All-Time
Vassar and RIT have met just three times in the all-time series, with the Tigers claiming victories in all three matchups.
 
Second Half Team
Despite being outscored 59-53 in the first half by opponents this season, Vassar holds a +14 margin in goals over opponents in the second half. The Brewers are outscoring opponents 71-57 in the second half, posting a +7 scoring margin in both the third and fourth quarters. 
 
Up-and-Down
Vassar has traded wins for losses in every game since the start of the season, unable to start a winning streak while still refusing to dip below .500.
 
Causing Problems
After averaging 6.1 caused turnovers a game through the first seven games of the year, the Vassar defense has been more disruptive posting 8.25 CTOs per contest the past four games. Sophomore long stick midfielder Austin Haymes (Palm Beach Gardens, FL/William T Dwyer) has been a major factor over that stretch, racking up 10 caused turnovers during the four-game span. 
 
Streaks
Sophomore Liam Moriarty (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield) has an eight-game point streak scoring currently in progress, and has notched a hat trick in four of those games. Sam Houston-Read has recorded at least one point in six straight games, racking up 11 goals and eight assists over that stretch. Senior Scott Brekne (Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville)has an 18-game ground ball streak dating back to March 29 of last season, scooping up at least one in every game since then.       
 
Mr. 300
Senior Scott Brekne made history against Mt. St. Mary (NY), winning his 300^th career faceoff at Vassar. Brekne has been highly effective for the Brewers at the restart this season, winning 55-86 for a .640 faceoff percentage.  
 
Brekne is also closing in on 300 career ground balls, entering Saturday's game with 299 career GBs in the burgundy and gray.
 
Parson, Brekne Making Moves
Junior Noah Parson now shares the school record with Jack Gross ('12) for man-up goals, scoring the 13^th of his career against Drew on April 7.
 
Junior Noah Parson is now fifth all-time at Vassar in both career points (108) and tied for fourth in goals (76) heading into Saturday's game. Parson sits behind Kevin Krieser ('01) on the all-time points list (112) and Thomas Boardman ('04) on the all-time goals list (80). Brekne is now seventh all-time in career points with 91, and is tied for eighth in career goals (56). 
 
Down the Stretch
Vassar is now in the thick of its most challenging stretch of the season over the next few weeks, facing three nationally ranked teams in a span of eight days. After facing No. 2 RIT tomorrow, the Brewers will host No. 8 Williams and No. 12 Union in back-to-back games. VC will wrap up conference play on April 25 on the road vs. Clarkson. 
 
Up Next
Vassar will have a non-conference matchup with Williams College on Wednesday, April 15 at 4:30 pm.