POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 2, 2017) — The No. 11 regionally-ranked Vassar Men's Lacrosse team will travel to Canton, New York this Friday for a chance at the Liberty League Championship.  The Brewers enter as the #3 seed facing the #2 seed St. Lawrence.  This is Vassar's first Liberty League tournament berth in program history, after their clinching win over Union this past Saturday.
 
Game Details
Opponent: No. 5 St. Lawrence University (14-1, 6-1 Liberty League)
Links: (St. Lawrence Home Page)(Roster)(Stats)(Schedule)
Site: Canton, NY
Facility: Hall/Leet Stadium
Date: Friday, May 5, 2017
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats)(Video)
 
Last Time Out: Vassar broke out in the second quarter to take down Union College on Senior Day this Saturday.  After trading goals with the Dutchmen early on, the Brewers rattled off six straight goals in the final six minutes of the first half to take a commanding 11-6 lead.  Vassar carried that momentum into the final two frames, running away in a 20-10 victory to clinch the #3 seed in the Liberty League tournament.  Senior Sam Houston-Reed led the way with 5 goals, with Senior Chris Billups and Freshman Michael Mullen each adding three.
 
A Look at the Brewers (11-4, 4-3 LL):
·       Vassar's attack has exploded in the last two games.  They posted their two highest goal totals to close the season, scoring 19 at Bard and 20 against Union.
·       Houston-Reed's 11 points over the last two games brings his season total to a team-leading 43 on the year.
·       Mullen has a good chance to make it two rookie-of-the-years in a row for the Brewers (James Thomas won it last year).  He also notched 11 points over the last two wins and has 38 for the season with 23 goals and 15 assists.
·       Another stellar performance from sophomore goalkeeper Matt Boyd saw him turn away 19 of 29 shots.  This improved his save percentage to .581, one tick off the league lead.
·       Freshman Matthew Lowery continues to impress, netting two in the win over Union.  He leads the league in ground balls, primarily because of his unbelievable 62.7% faceoff win percentage in 151 wins.
·       Senior Eric Prezioso induced mayhem in Saturday's game, adding three caused turnovers to bring his season total to 24, good for second in the Liberty League.  He has been a constant presence, forcing at least one turnover and averaging about three ground balls in his last seven contests.
·       Vassar has limited opponent's to 10 man-up goals over 38:30 in penalty minutes, both among the lowest in the Liberty League.  They have killed 78.3% of these limited opportunities.
·       After turning the ball over almost 20 times a game through the first stretch of the season, the Brewers have played crisp lacrosse during their 5-2 finish to the season.  In that stretch, they have averaged less than 15 and have not turned it over 20 times in any one game.

A Look at the Saints (14-1, 6-1 Liberty):
·        St. Lawrence has been almost untouchable this season, with their only loss coming on the first day of April against the one seed RIT 19-12.
·       The Saints have the best facilitator in the league in the form of senior Connor Healey.  The 6'0'' attacker leads the league in assists with 35 and has also poured in 28 goals.
·       Lowery will meet a worthy opponent at the starting whistle.  Senior Ryan Brigham comes in with 159 faceoff wins and a 60.7% win percentage.
·       The Saints have allowed by far the best goals against average at 6.49 behind a breakout from first-year goalkeeper Alex Terry.  Terry has a .544 save percentage and 98 saves.
·       Senior Caleb Kane closed the season with four caused turnovers in a win over Skidmore, grabbing the top spot in the Liberty League in the category.
·       Three other Saints have double-digit caused turnovers: senior Steel White (19), junior Sam Sweeney (15), and senior Cooper Warden (10).  White and Sweeney also have a combined 60 ground balls.
·       Coming in at second in the league in goals per game at 13.93, St. Lawrence leads in goal differential.  They have outscored opponents by an average of 7.5 goals per game this season.
·       The Saints tend to jump on their opponents early, outscoring them by an average of more than five goals in first halves.
·       St. Lawrence's victories have been more lopsided as of late.  They have outscored their opponents by 9.43 goals-per-game over their current seven-game winning streak.

All Time Against the Saints: The Brewers have one victory (2011) in their 17 historic matchups against St. Lawrence.  Three goals from Billups and two from Houston-Read were not enough in their most recent matchup on April 15^th of this year, as St. Lawrence jumped out to an early lead and closed it out 14-8 behind three goals by Healey and junior Jordan Dow.
 
Next Up: Should the Brewers win this Friday, they would move on to play the winner of RIT and Clarkson on Sunday, May 7 for the Liberty League Championship.