SCRANTON, Pa. — The Catholic University men's lacrosse team's quest for its third-straight Landmark Conference title begins tonight when the team does battle with Scranton on Weiss Field.
As opposed to head coach Jon Sax's first two seasons, he will have to lead his team to two road victories in order to lift the trophy for the third successive campaign.
When the two teams met in the regular season, it was a back-and-forth affair in which neither team led by more than a single goal until Scranton pushed ahead 10-8 late and held on to win by that same score.
As evident by the very tight head-to-head game, there is very little to separate the two teams. Both teams have scored 116 goals in Landmark Conference play while Scranton's defense is ever-so-slightly stingier. The Royals allowed just 58 goals while the Cardinals conceded 64.
If the Cardinals are to be successful, they will need goalkeeper Nic Pezone to play as he did in last year's Landmark Conference tournament. The senior was stellar in last year's postseason, only conceding 13 goals between the two games and making 37 saves, a number of which were stunning stops.
Catholic's defensive unit will have to contend with Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Year Christopher Crapanzano. The midfielder netted 49 goals in 17 games this season and found the net three times in the victory over Catholic less than two weeks ago.
The Cardinals may view just three goals from Crapanzano as a success as he fired 14 shots toward Pezone's cage, converting at just an 18 percent clip. Catholic's defense, led by underclassmen Sam Pikul and Mike Tayloe, will look to cause him problems and keep him from getting clean looks at goal. Both Pikul and Tayloe were named to the all-conference second team yesterday. Pikul leads the team with 18 caused turnovers and Tayloe is third behind the goalkeeper and face-off specialist in ground balls with 35.
Where Crapanzano caused major issues in the regular-season match-up was at the face-off X. The Scranton number eight went 9-of-11 on the draw and combining with AJ Perkell, the Royals dominated Catholic at the X, winning 63.6 percent of face-offs. Catholic's specialists will be looking for a response tonight.
The Cardinal attack goes through impressive sophomore Victor Rosado. The Belen Jesuit product leads the team with 69 points and, although he possesses a lethal shot and brilliant movement in tight spaces, is equally as dangerous as a passer. The first-team all-conference selection has scored 37 goals and dished out a team-high 32 assists.
Fitz McLaughlin, Connor Pierce, and Luke D'Ambrogi will look to take some of the pressure off of Rosado on the offensive end. McLaughlin leads the team with 38 goals while Pierce has chipped in with 23. D'Ambrogi's constant threat as a provider requires opposing defenses to gameplan for the midfielder.
Watch out for Kevin Ortlieb and Matt Shandley as potential difference makers. Both have had strong seasons and seen their roles grow as the year has worn on. They both make a name for doing the dirty work well. Collin Stein and Andrew Kearns will look to control the midfield as well. Stein was named to the Landmark Conference second team yesterday.
Tonight marks the third meeting between Scranton and Catholic in the Landmark Conference Championships with each team winning once. Scranton defeated Catholic 12-9 in the 2011 semifinals while the Cardinals brought home the 2015 crown with a 5-4 win over the Royals.
The winner of tonight's semifinal will move on to face the winner of the Elizabethtown-Susquehanna contest. The Landmark Conference Championship will be played on Saturday at the highest remaining seed.
