CU Men's Lacrosse Preview - vs. #5 St. Lawrence (4/13)

By: April 12, 2016

Senior Keith Mierzwa ranks among the conference leaders with 19 caused turnovesr

Men's Lacrosse | 4/12/2016 12:56:00 PM

If the time hasn't arrived already, it's certainly close: the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team is in a must-win situation to keep its hopes of a conference playoff spot open and the Golden Knights will be in for a battle when they face fifth-ranked St. Lawrence University on Wednesday night at Hantz Turf Field.

The Golden Knights suffered a tough loss to Vassar on Saturday, dropping a 10-9 decision on a late goal by the Brewers, and sit at 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the Liberty League. St. Lawrence is still jockeying for a playoff spot as well, but the Saints are a bit more in cruise control at 10-1 overall and 2-1 in league games, with their lone loss coming against second-ranked RIT.

The Saints may be vulnerable, however, as two of the team's top scorers have been in active as of late. Conor Healy leads the conference in points per game (6.10) and assists per game (3.10) by wide margins, but sat out the last game for St. Lawrence, as did Jordan Dow (16 goals, 9 assists, 25 points). The absence didn't change the outcome for the Saints in either of those games, however, as Jeremy Vantour (25-10-35, 35 groundballs) and Jamie DeNicola (18-4-22) made up for the offense. As good as the St. Lawrence offense has been, the defense has been even more impressive, allowing a league-low 6.73 goals per game. Jack Roberts leads the team with 37 groundballs and 19 caused turnovers, while Caleb Kane has chipped in 28 groundballs and 18 caused turnovers. Ryan Fisher has posted a 7.10 goals against average and .563 save percentage in the Saints' crease.

Clarkson has been snake bit in its results this year. Although the team is just 2-8, the Knights have been in each of their games this year but have come up short late with a record of 1-5 in games decided by two goals or fewer. Junior Ryan St. Croix leads the team with 29 points on 24 goals and five assists, while classmate Ryan DaRin has produced the same amount of points on 21 goals and eight assists. Scott Dosser has kicked in 17 points (14-3) and Same Groves (7-9-16) and J.R. Campbell (6-9-15) have also contributed to the rounded offense. Austin Case leads the team with 29 groundballs and is chased by Marc Simmons with 27. Senior Keith Mierzwa ranks among the conference leaders with 19 caused turnovers and 24 groundballs. Junior goalkeeper Nick Strandholm has been busy in the Clarkson crease, but has kept the Knights alive in several close games with a .519 save percentage.

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Players Mentioned

#26 J.R. Campbell: A; 6' 0"; Senior

#11 Austin Case: M; 5' 7"; Senior

#17 Ryan DaRin: A; 5' 10"; Junior

#5 Scott Dosser: M; 5' 9"; Junior

#10 Keith Mierzwa: D; 5' 10"; Senior

#16 Marc Simmons: M; 6' 1"; Junior

#7 Ryan St. Croix: M; 6' 3"; Junior

#4 Nick Strandholm: GK; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#26 J.R. Campbell
: 6' 0"; Senior
: A

#11 Austin Case
: 5' 7"; Senior
: M

#17 Ryan DaRin
: 5' 10"; Junior
: A

#5 Scott Dosser
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

#10 Keith Mierzwa
: 5' 10"; Senior
: D

#16 Marc Simmons
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M

#7 Ryan St. Croix
: 6' 3"; Junior
: M

#4 Nick Strandholm
: 6' 0"; Junior
: GK