POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 25, 2016) – The Vassar College men's lacrosse team (7-7, 2-3 Liberty) will host the Raptors of Bard College for its last home game of the season on Wednesday, April 27 at 6 p.m.

Game Details
Opponent: Bard College (4-9. 0-5 Liberty)
Links: (Vassar Men's Lacrosse Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(Bard Men's Lacrosse Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Weinberg Field
Date: April 27, 2016
Time: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Links: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

Last Time Out
The Brewers fought hard against No. 2 RIT, but dropped the contest 21-8. Freshman James Thomas scored the first goal of the game to make the score 1-0, and continued to be a threat, leading his team with two goals and three assists. Senior Noah Parson added two goals, while Brandon DeStasio, Sam Houston-Read, Liam Neville, Chris Billups, and Liam Moriarty also tallied points in Saturday's matchup. Vassar was 2-of-3 on man-up opportunities, and earned no penalties the entire game. Brian Kube led the defense with four ground balls. Freshman goalkeeper Matt Boyd earned eight saves in the first half before junior Brandon Crecco entered the game to make four saves in the second. Fifteen different players scored for RIT, including returning SILA Iroquois Nationals Award for Division III's Most Outstanding Player, long-stick middie Matt Hossack.

A Look at the Bard Raptors (4-9, 0-5 Liberty)
Bard is coming off a four-game losing streak. The Raptors' last victory came on April 6 against Manhattanville College by a score of 9-8. In recent Liberty League action, they lost to Union College 18-6 on Saturday, April 23. John Palermo and Emmet O'Connell scored two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Troy Ludka posted double-digit saves for the ninth time this season, earning 11 in the loss. Bard also dropped games to Clarkson University, 18-6, to No. 6 St. Lawrence University, 14-6, and to RPI, 18-3. On April 2, the Raptors held Skidmore College to only nine goals, but only scored a pair themselves to drop the contest, 9-2. The Raptors will travel to Rochester, NY on April 30 for their final game of the season against No. 2 RIT.

Bard has a well-rounded offense, with four players recording over 25 points this season. Sophomore attack John Palermo leads his team in goals with 23 so far this season. The trio of Blake Burnley (16 goals, 13 assists), George Goceljak (15 goals, 12 assists) and Emmet O'Connell (13 goals, 14 assists) have all proven they can both put the ball in the net and set their teammates up to score. Goalkeeper Troy Ludka has a 49.0 save percentage, and ranks first in total ground balls, having picked up 45 in 11 games played. Senior captain Sam Funnel has added 43 in 13 games, in addition to 27 caused turnovers, which is tied for first with junior defenseman Will Hughes.

Against Bard All-Time
Vassar will seek to keep its record unblemished in the third-ever matchup between the two teams. In 2014, the two teams faced in an out-of-conference contest, where Vassar earned a 15-2 victory. Last year was Bard's first year in the Liberty League for men's lacrosse. Vassar earned its only League win of the season by a score of 17-8 at Bard's home field.

Liberty League Standings
Vassar currently ranks fifth in the Liberty League, behind RIT, St. Lawrence, RPI, and Union. The Brewers have earned solid victories over the sixth and seventh teams, Clarkson and Skidmore. If Vassar can earn a victory over Bard College, both Union and Vassar will have a 3-3 League record heading into their final game on Saturday.

No. 1 All-Time
Noah Parson scored his 36^th goal of the season on Senior Day to eclipse his own season record with two games left to play. Parson has been a consistent offensive threat over his four years. He holds the career records for goals, assists and points. Parson also ranks among the best in the League in the three offensive statistical categories this season: he is fourth in the League in points per game, fifth in goals per game and eighth in assists per game so far.

Helping Hands
Vassar's unselfish style of play is made evident by the fact that they are the only team in the League with four players in the top ten in the League for assists per game. Liam Moriarty ranks fourth, averaging 1.46 assists per game. Sam Houston-Read's 1.36 assists per game average ranks fifth in the League, while Noah Parson (1.07 assists per game) and James Thomas (1.00 assists per game) come in at the eight and ten spots.

Sam Houston-Read's 41 points so far this season places him among the top five season performances in Vassar history. In the next two games he will have the chance to climb in the record books. His 19 assists, one more than his total last season, ranks in the top four season totals of all-time, and places him within eight of the all-time career assist leader, despite only being a junior.

Anchored Defense
Junior defenseman Eric Prezioso leads his team with 17 total caused turnovers, and is one of six players with 20 or more ground balls. As a testament to their defensive presence, the top seven players with the most caused turnovers this season are all juniors. Junior captain and midfielder Brandon DeStasio leads the team with 38 total ground balls, in addition to 15 goals and 13 assists. 

Jersey Matt
Freshman Matt Boyd has started in net the past two games against Williams College and RIT. His season save percentage is currently 54.8, having allowed an average of 10.65 goals against, while making 63 total saves this season. He made a career-high 16 saves in 60 minutes of play against Williams, despite earning the loss with 14 goals against. Boyd and junior goalkeeper Brandon Crecco split time in net against No. 2 RIT. Since earning spare minutes in three games at the beginning of the season, Boyd has now played in three complete contests and two halves.

Up Next
Vassar men's lacrosse heads to Schenectady, NY for its final game of the regular season against Liberty League rival, Union College (8-6, 3-3 Liberty), on Saturday April 30 at 1 p.m.