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LOWELL, Mass.—The UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-6, 0-1 America East) returns to the Mill City this weekend to kick off its two-game homestand on Saturday, March 25, against newest conference foe Bryant (5-2, 1-0 AE). Faceoff is set for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the River Hawks took a trip to Albany, N.Y., to take on the UAlbany Great Danes at Bob Ford Field. Nick Harvath and Sean Parker led the scoring efforts with two goals each in the 15-7 loss. Harvath tacked on an assist to finish with a team-high three points alongside freshman Ben Roberts, who net a season-high three points off a goal and a pair of helpers. Sophomores Riley Lawhorn and Khairi Sears rounded out scoring with a goal each to end the day. Brian Wiles also got in on the points with an assist against the Great Danes. Justin Longo led the team defensively with a pair of caused turnovers, with Luke Reanud, Jake Davis and Ben Greco getting on the action with one force turnover each. Renaud also collected a team-high seven ground balls while making 18 saves.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
The River Hawks continue chasing their first win of the season as they return to the friendly confines of Cushing Field to host the Bulldogs. Senior Nick Harvath sits atop the leaderboard for the River Hawks in assists (6) and points (13) through his four appearances. The Michigan native is currently on a nine-game goal streak dating back to April 2, 2022. With seven goals, Harvath ranks third on the team in the category. Sophomore Riley Lawhorn and graduate student Sean Parker are both tied for the top spot in goals with eight each. Defensively, Ryan Quinlan, Henry De Tolla and Alexander Chairs are tied with three each to lead the River Hawks. Quinlan's 13 ground ball pickups sit him in third on the squad this season. At the top of the column, freshman faceoff specialist Devin German owns 29 ground balls this season. The team's primary FOGO, German also has a .429 win percentage to his credit at the faceoff X after winning 48 of his 112 attempts. Freshman Luke Renaud has continued to excel in the cage for the River Hawks. Starting all six games for the River Hawks, Renaud has a 15.19 GAA and a .492 save percentage. Renaud sits in second in the conference standings in saves per game with 14.50.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs make the trip north to Lowell with a 5-2 record so far this season. Most recently, Bryant claimed its first America East victory over UMBC just last week, besting the Retrievers, 17-13. Bryant's two losses this year came at the hands of Boston University and Air Force, falling 16-15 and 11-6, respectively. The Bulldogs battled to the finish against the Terriers, dropping the hard-fought battle in overtime. Bryant's loss to Air Force marked their lowest-scoring outing of the season so far with just six points against the Falcons. The Bulldogs have five players this season with 20+ points in their seven games. Senior Kevin Groeninger leads the way with 28 points off 14 goals and a team-high 14 assists. Redshirt freshman Jack Lonsinger has been pacing the team in goals with 22 so far this season. He currently ranks second in the conference in goals per game with 3.14. Hot on his heels, rookie attacker Johnny Hackett owns 21 goals and six assists this season to rank second on the team in points. He also joins Lonsinger in the AE rankings, sitting in fourth in goals per game with 3.00. Defensively, Tanner Alexander and Drew Lucas have been disruptors for the Bulldogs, logging 12 and 11 caused turnovers, respectively, in their seven appearances. Bryant has some depth at the X with Nathan Laliberte and Jacob Alexander logging equal time on the faceoff this year. Laliberte owns a slight edge in the category with 70 wins in his 114 attempts for a .614 win rate. He currently ranks 18th in the nation in the category. Laliberte also leads the team in ground balls with 43 pickups and ranks second in the conference in ground balls per game with 6.14. In the cage, the Bulldogs have looked to Teagan Alexander as their primary starter this year. He owns a 13.07 GAA and a .464 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win against the Bulldogs would mark the first of the season for UMass Lowell as well as the first for Head Coach Drew Kelleher. With a win, the River Hawks would also secure a 1-0 record in the all-time series history against Bryant. 
  
ALL-TIME SERIES
For the second time this season, the River Hawks will be squaring off against a completely new opponent. Since elevating to Division I, UMass Lowell and Bryant have never met on the lacrosse field before. A win this weekend over the Bulldogs would give UMass Lowell a 1-0 record in the all-time series.
 
UP NEXT
Up next, the River Hawks open the April campaign at home with a visit from Binghamton on Saturday, April 1, at 11 a.m.