MATCH-UP:
No. 20 Rollins (4-3) vs. Colorado
Mesa (6-1)
WHERE:
Barker Family Stadium and Cahall Sandspur Field, | Winter Park,
Fla.
WHEN:
Thursday, March 16, 2017 | 7:00 P.M.
COVERAGE:
VIDEO: Geico
Tars Sports Network
PLAY-BY-PLAY: Clark Sprinkel
STATS: TarsStats.com
SET-UP:
The Rollins men's lacrosse team enters into Thursday night's
game with an overall record of 4-3 on the season, and most recently
earned the No. 20 slot on the USILA Division II Poll. Last time
out, the Tars squared up against their third nationally-ranked
opponent this season, and second straight team that was ranked at
No. 5 on the USILA DII Poll. Rollins put up a fight but were
unable to overcome a fifth-ranked Mount Olive squad on Sunday
afternoon in Savannah, Ga. The Tars gave the Trojans a run for
their money, but fell by a one goal with a final score of 7-6. The
battle marked the second-straight game the Tars have fallen by just
one goal to a No. 5 team.
Colorado Mesa makes the trip to Winter Park to kick off a
three-game tour in the Sunshine State. The Mavericks enter into
Thursday's game with an overall record of 6-1 and have most
recently received votes on the USILA DII Poll. CMU has squared up
against two opponents in their last four games, facing both
Rockhurst University and Maryville University twice in trading
contests. The Mavericks are riding a three-game win streak,
including their most recent 26-4 win over Maryville on March
12.
The 2016 season saw Colorado Mesa finish with a mark of 13-4 as
they claimed the inaugural Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
championship and finished the season ranked 20th on the national
poll.
TRACKING THE TARS:
The Tars are led in overall points by sophomore Greg
Taicher, who has notched a team high 21 so far this season,
scoring 12 goals and adding a team best nine assists. Senior Justin
Diamond leads the team in goals scored with 14, while also
adding three assists. Connor
Ashton is quickly climbing the scoring ranks, having notched
seven goals and three assists for ten points. Lucas
Brush leads the team in ground balls with 21 in six games
played, followed by Andrew
Matthews with 17, and Trey
LaPorta with 12. Laporta leads the team at the faceoff-x with
a .545 win percentage, having won 60-of-110 taken, while Brett
Portera has won 6-of-12. Brush leads the team in caused
turnovers with six, followed by Austin
Jackson and Roy
Hansen with five each. In goal, Jake
Hogan has faced a total of 141 shots and earning 43 saves for a
save percentage of .489. Hogan has allowed 45 goals so far this
year, averaging 8.91 per game.
TRACKING THE MAVERICKS:
Colorado Mesa is led in both goals and assists by Steve
Brandenburg with 25 and 11, respectively for a team high 36
points. Reece Callies and Jayden Campbell have notched 14 goals
each, while Jack Griffin has scored 12 and Calen Ketcham has earned
11 while notching a team high two game-winning goals so far this
season. In the assists column, Callies and Jake Douglas follow
with seven apiece. Michael Marino leads the Mavericks in ground
balls with 28, with Ryder Clark coming next with 16. Brady George
has caused a team high 13 turnovers so far this season, followed
closely by Clark with 12. Marino has been the primary faceoff
specialist for the Mavericks, winning 73-of-104 attempts for a .702
win percentage. Austin Cromwell bests Marino in overall win
percentage with a .758 total after winning 25-of-33 so far this
year. In total, six different players have taken faceoffs for the
Mavericks in seven contests. Remi Reeves has earned the start in
five games in goal for Colorado Mesa, seeing a total of 255
minutes. Reeves has faced 95 shots so far this season, earning 34
saves for a save percentage of .540 while allowing 29 goals for an
average of 6.82 per game.
NOTES:
- The last time the Tars and Mavericks matched up on the turf was
on March 19, 2016, where the Tars picked up a 7-5 victory.
- The program series is currently tied at 2-2.
- Rollins has squared up against three nationally-ranked programs
this season, including two straight teams who were ranked fifth at
the time of competition.
- All three of the Tars' losses this season have come to
nationally-ranked programs.
NEXT:
The Tars will once again take to their home turf on
Saturday, March 18, when they host North Greenville University.
Game time against the Crusaders is set for 1 p.m. Fans who are
unable to attend the game will be able to follow all of the action
with free live video on the Geico Tars Sports Network on
RollinsSports.com along with live stat coverage on
TarsStats.com.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins
men's lacrosse team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com. Fans can
also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following
Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram.
