#2 MOUNT ST. MARY'S (8-7, 7-2 MAAC) vs. #3 MARIST (8-7, 6-3 MAAC)
Thursday, May 4^th | 3 p.m.
Riverdale, N.Y. | Gaelic Park
 
GAME NOTES | WATCH | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (May 3, 2023) – Entering the tournament as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Co-Champion for the regular season, Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse clinched a bye to skip past the opening round. Needing two wins to secure a NCAA berth, the team takes on a tough challenger in third-seeded Marist.  
 
MOUNT UPDATE

A seven-game win streak propelled the Mount to the top of the standings in 2023, beginning with a victory over LIU on March 18^th and not seeing defeat for six weeks. That streak was the longest for the program since 2000 and matched a Division I best.  
 
Solid defense and midfield play anchor the team, with effective offense backing them up. In terms of conference rankings, the Mount stands top five in 12 of 15 categories, leading in face-off win percentage and ground balls per game. For individual achievement, Connor Beals stands fourth in the nation with a .636 percentage on face-offs and Mitchell Dunham stands 10^th in caused turnovers at an average of two per game.
 
Both Beals and Dunham were members of the All-MAAC team announced last Friday, along with Steven Schmitt, Jared McMahon, Jake Krieger and Jackson Phillips. TJ Gravante was named to the Rookie Team. The Mount nearly swept the major awards, taking four out of five honors, with Beals, Dunham, Gravante and Schmitt the recipients.
 
SCOUTING THE RED FOXES

While the Mount works to limit their opponents, Marist hopes to outscore them. Ranking 22^nd in the country, the Red Foxes average 13.4 goals per game which is the best in the MAAC. In fact, the one major award the team did not receive was on offense, as Jojo Pirreca finished the season on 58 points.
 
Coming into the tournament firing on the cylinders on a three-game streak, they set a record for most goals in a playoff game, defeating Quinnipiac by a final of 29-19. Pirreca, along with Jamison Embury, found the back of the net six times each.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES

Dating back to 1991, the Mount and Marist have met 22 prior times, including a 12-9 Mountaineers win in April. Before that the teams met every year from 1991 to 2010 during their tenures in both the Northeast Conference and MAAC. Mount St. Mary's holds the all-time lead, 15-7.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Should the Mount advance, they would face the winner of Manhattan and Siena in the conference championship game on Saturday, May 6^th.