Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Lacrosse team continues Skyline Conference play this week with a trip to Manhattanville on Wednesday and a home tilt against the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday afternoon. Live Stats and Video will be available for both Wednesday's 7:00 p.m. face-off and Saturday's 1:00 p.m. Senior Day game.
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary begins the week on a three-game winning streak, including league wins over the College of Mount Saint Vincent and Purchase. The Knights carry an 8-3 overall record and a 2-1 league record into Wednesday's contest at Manhattanville.
Brian Esposito (Floral Park, N.Y.) is one of two Knights to record at least 30 points through 11 games in 2022, leading the team with 34 assists and 43 points. Esposito, who ranks first in the Skyline Conference in total assists, also adds 24 groundballs and seven caused turnovers.
Colby Martin (Huntington, N.Y.) leads the team in goals with 22 on the season and sits second on the team with 31 points.
Xavier Rodriguez (Hackettstown, N.J.) and
Nick Gurello (Selden, N.Y.) support the offensive attack with 17 and 15 goals, respectively.
Four Knights have won at least 26 face-offs on the season, led by
Robert Root's (Scotch Plains, N.J.) 35.
Anthony Paggiotta (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) has won 34 draws with
Bobby DeSantis (Patchogue, N.Y.) and
Dennis Dowd (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) checking in with 29 and 26, respectively.
Chris Maggio (Valley Stream, N.Y.) anchors the defense with 23 caused turnovers and 34 groundballs with
Joseph Angelillo (Pompton Plains, N.J.) adding 19 forced miscues and 22 groundballs.
Carmine Comitini (Staten Island, N.Y.) checks in with 17 caused turnovers and 14 groundballs for the Knights.
In goal,
Devin Kelley (Hebron, Conn.) has started 10 of the team's 11 contests and begins with week with a 7.44 goals against average and a .558 save percentage while stopping 82 shots. Kelley ranks second in the conference in goals against average and seventh in save percentage.
A Look At Manhattanville: The Valiants hold a 2-9 overall record and a 1-2 mark in conference play following losses to Maritime and USMMA.
Three Valiants have scored at least 20 goals on the season, led by 26 from Nick Cornelia who paces the team with 34 points. Jesse McGrath adds 21 goals and 26 points with Sean Larkin scoring 20 goals and chipping in 28 points. Cornelia and Larkin are tied for the team lead in assists with eight apiece.
Nick Padovani has won a team-high 71 face-offs and picked up 29 groundballs for the Valiants, while Mike Chris has won 20 draws.
Kevin Rafftery leads the way for Manhattanville with 33 groundballs with Melchi Agyapong and Nolan Nye tied for tops on the team with 21 caused turnovers each.
Jason Frezza has started all 11 games in the cage for the Valiants to date and is sporting a 12.66 goals against average and a .562 save percentage. Frezza begins the week ranked second in the conference in total saves with 158.
Recent History: Mount Saint Mary has won three of the last four meetings with the Valiants and hold a 3-2 record against Manhattanville since the start of the 2015 season. The Knights have won each of the last two matchups, including a 10-9 double overtime win in 2019.
Scouting USMMA: The Mariners enter a Wednesday affair at Mount Saint Vincent winners of two straight and with a 5-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark against conference rivals. USMMA topped Farmingdale State and Manhattanville last week.
Carter Hall sits atop the team leaderboard in goals with 24 while Jack Collins has tallied 16 times to go along with team-highs in assists with 17 and points with 33. Michael Emerick chips in 25 points for the Mariners on the strength of 16 goals and nine helpers.
Chris Neuman leads the team with 61 face-off wins with Noah Laster checking in with 46 victories at the 'x'. Mark Bredeck paces the Mariners with 34 groundballs, while Dom Mirack anchors the backline with 13 caused turnovers.
In goal, Samuel Stephenson has made each of the team's 11 starts and has produced 99 saves while holding a 9.91 goals against average and a .575 save percentage.
Recent History: Mount Saint Mary looks for its first win over USMMA on Saturday afternoon.
What's Next: The Knights wrap up the 2022 regular season next week with a home game against St. Joseph's-L.I. on Tuesday and a trip to Maritime on April 30.
