Men's Lacrosse | 3/10/2023 11:00:00 AM

GAME 5
RMU (3-1 / 0-0 #ASUNMLAX) @ HPU (5-2 / 0-0 #A10MLAX)
Saturday, March 11 | 12:00 p.m.
Vert Stadium (3,000) | High Point, N.C.
 
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @RMUMLacrosse | Instagram: rmumlacrosse
 
Opening Face-Off

• The RMU men's lacrosse team heads south down to High Point, N.C. for their final non-conference test of the season.
• Last time out, the Colonials lost their first game of the season 14-12, against Hobart (3/4).
• For the third consecutive game, sophomore David Burr scored at least three goals. Against Hobart, Burr scored four goals and led the team in shots with 10.
• Senior captain Elliot Holden scored a hat trick for the first time since his freshman year, when he scored five at Detroit Mercy (3/4/20) in a 16-13 win.
• Junior Liam Keane had a career day against the Statesmen, posting his first career four-point game. On the day, Keane scored one goal and added three assists.
• Before their last home game, the Colonials beat Canisius (2/26) in Buffalo, N.Y., 13-8. 11 total players registered a point in the game.
• Taggart Clark recorded five goals and senior Ben Starkey scored a brace.
• In week four of the 2023 campaign, Taggart Clark and Nate Randall swept the ASUN awards, as Clark was awarded Player of the Week and Randall was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week.
• Head coach Craig McDonald now owns a 13-7 overall record and remains 4-1 in conference play.

 
HIGH POINT LINKS
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (High Point) – Come Saturday, it'll be the ninth time in program history the Colonials play the Panthers. All-time, HPU holds the advantage 5-3 in the series.
 
Since 2015, the programs have squared off every year once, switching home and away. The first meeting was a 13-10 win for the Panthers, back on February 28^th in 2015. The first win for the Colonials was on March 5^th, 2017, winning 9-7. Last season when these teams faced off in March, fifth-year Taggart Clark scored three goals and one assist. Ben Starkey, Torin Neal and Will Johansen all scored one goal. Eric Swagerty and Elliot Holden both provided one assist each. On face-off's, Bo Columbus won 18-out-of-27 draws, and scooped up seven ground balls. Defensively, James Leary picked up six ground balls, Johnny Chaisson had five and captain Owen Down picked up four. In net, Nate Randall in his freshman year had eight saves.
 
Going back to the 2021 season, Elliot Holden recorded two goals and Taggart Clark registered one assist. James Leary picked up five ground balls. In the season before that, the Colonials beat High Point, 15-11. Elliot Holden and Johnny Chaisson both scored a goal for RMU.
 
From 2015-18, Associate Head Coach Adrian Torok-Orban produced great numbers against the Panthers. In four games against their program, he scored six goals and two assists, and helped earn two wins for the Colonials.
 
Scouting the Panthers – So far, in the 2023 season, High Point has played seven games which is the most in the A10 conference. Prior to conference play starting next week, the Panthers are second in the A10, with a 5-2 overall record. They've picked up wins against Detroit Mercy, VMI, Navy, Hampton and Queens (N.C.). Their two losses were at #7 Duke and #14 Jacksonville. Currently, the Panthers are undefeated at home, with a 4-0 record at Vert Stadium.
 
Three players on the Panthers have reached the 20-point plateau already this season. Leading the team in goals is Brayden Mayea. He's posted 18 goals and seven assists. At the top with 30 points is Jack VanOverbeke. He's scored 15 goals and 15 assists so far this season. Fifth-year Michael Ippolito is third on the team with 13 goals and eight assists. On face-off's, the Panthers specialist is senior Collin Hoben. He's 88-156 (.564) on face-off's this year and owns a team-high 46 ground balls picked up. Defensively, Grant Ammann on the backend has caused a team-high 16 turnovers. Through four games, the Panthers have used four different goalies. Senior Parker Green has played and started in all seven games. He's made 55 saves and owns a .451 save percentage.
 
High Point's program started a decade ago in 2013. The team played unattached in their first season and then joined the ASUN for the 2014 campaign. From 2015-22, High Point played in the Southern Conference. This year, the program joins the newly formed Atlantic10 conference. The A10 is featuring men's lacrosse for the first time, after having women's lacrosse since 2006. Against current teams in the A10, RMU has picked up 13 total wins against Hobart (5), Saint Joseph's (4), High Point (3) and St. Bonaventure (1). This season, the Colonials have a 1-1 record against A10 teams.
 
NCAA LEADERS
As a team, across all of Division 1, the Colonials rank seventh in scoring defense. They're averaging, only giving up 9.25 goals per game. On the offensive side, RMU has also been a threat on their man-up opportunities, converting 52.9% of the time, which is ranked 11^th in the country. Also, the Colonials are 14^th in the nation in assists per game (8.25).
 
Helping the Colonials reach the ranks nationally in those categories are sophomore's Nate Randall and David Burr. In Division 1, goalkeeper Nate Randall is nine in goals against average (9.14) and 12^th in save percentage (.556). Tied fourth in the country in individual man-up goals is Burr with four. The transfer from Rutgers University leads the team in goals and points (10-3—13).

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