Saturday v. Sacred Heart: Live Stats | Watch 

LOWELL, Mass.—The UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-4) returns to Cushing Field this Saturday, March 12, for an 11 a.m. showdown with Sacred Heart (1-3).
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The River Hawks continue their battle through a tough non-conference schedule. Most recently, UMass Lowell made the quick trip to neighbors and in-state rivals Merrimack, facing a 16-10 setback on the road. Despite the result, the River Hawks tested the Warriors through the 60-minute clash forcing a 6-6 tie at the half. Junior Conor Foley (Walpole, Mass.) continued his impressive start to the season, netting a team-high five points off a hat trick and two assists. Five other River Hawks—junior Nick Harvath (Whitmore Lake, Mich.), graduate student Domenic Giachello (Somers, Conn.), junior Brian Wiles (Longmeadow, Mass.), sophomore Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.) and senior Dakota Clark (Bedford, N.H.)—contributed to the ten-point outing.
 
On defense, freshman Ryan Quinlan (Mattapoisett, Mass.) had a standout night against Merrimack, leading the crew in caused turnovers with two and picking up six groundballs. His groundball total was only surpassed by faceoff specialist Liam McDonough (Groton, Mass.). The senior had a season-best on Saturday, going 16-for-28 on the night and picking up nine groundballs.
 
Sophomore Anthony Mancino (Holbrook, N.Y.) made his second consecutive start for UMass Lowell, making 10 stops against the Warriors.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Pioneers enter the weekend riding a two-game losing streak after dropping close battles to Fairfield (19-16) and Providence (16-12). Sophomore Morgan O'Reilly has emerged as the Pioneers' leading scorer through their first four games, picking up 15 points off 13 goals and two assists. He has netted a career-high five points in his last two appearances for the Pioneers.
 
Freshman Jack Ramsay leads the defense with three caused turnovers so far this season in addition to three groundballs. The Pioneers are no stranger to playing both sides of the ball, however, with several attackmen forcing turnovers.
 
Three goalies have seen action in the cage for Sacred Heart in their four games. Sophomore Alex Pazienza leads the way for the Pioneers with 136:52 minutes played and 112 shots faced. In just his second career appearance, Pazienza led Sacred Heart to a 13-10 decision over Quinnipiac to log his first-ever win.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
With hat tricks in three of his four starts this season, Foley leads the River Hawks with 18 points off 12 goals and six assists. His proficiency on attack puts him at the top of the leader board in all scoring categories, including man-up goals (4). His 3.00 goals per game average top the conference stat sheet, while his 4.50 points per game and 9.00 shots per game lands him in second overall.
 
Faceoff specialist McDonough assumed the role of the River Hawks' primary man at the x once again this season. Winning 45 of his 106 faceoff attempts, he owns a .425 win percentage through the start of the non-conference slate. With a team-high 25 ground balls, the senior is averaging 6.25 ground balls per game, which is good for second in America East.
 
Defenseman Quinlan has made an impression early on for the River Hawks defensive crew. His 1.75 caused turnovers per game rank him fifth in the conference so far this season.
 
MAN-UP DOMINANCE
The River Hawks have seen unprecedented success on the extra-man opportunity this season with nine goals in four games. UMass Lowell currently ranks nationally on the man-up chance, with a .529 success rate that ties them for 12th.
 
IN THE CAGE 
Sophomore goaltender Mancino has started the last two games in the cage for the River Hawks. His .444 save percentage and 15.00 GAA leads the UMass Lowell goaltending contingent. In his first game of the season, Mancino matched his career-high in saves with 14 against Siena. In total, he's been key in eliminating chances for opponents in critical moments.