The Last Meeting

Massachusetts	12
Army	9

February 10, 2012
West Point, N.Y.

Manny's 7 Leads Men's Lax To 12-9 Win At Army Box Score | Season Stats | Postgame Interview Will Manny scored a career-high seven goals and nine points to lead the No. 11 UMass men's lacrosse team to a 12-9 season-opening win at Army on Friday afternoon at Michie Stadium. Manny's nine-point performance was the first since Jeff Zywicki did the same against Albany in 2003. The win was also head coach Greg Cannella's 150th career victory.

Recap | Box Score

SCOUTING ARMY
Army men's lacrosse is looking to rebound from a 7-8 overall finish during the Black Knights' 15-game regular season one year ago and will be looking to earn their first NCAA Tournament appearance since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010. Army is led by eighth-year head coach Joe Alberici, who owns a 63-58 record at the helm of the program. Last year, the Minutemen also opened their season with a contest against the Black Knights, taking an 8-5 decision at West Point, N.Y., from 12th-ranked Army on Feb. 12.

Leading scorers and USILA All-American Garrett Thul returns for his senior season in 2013 after notching 43 points on 39 goals and four assists one year ago, while John Glesener will look to improve upon a freshman campaign that saw the Camillus, N.Y., native notch 16 goals and 17 assists for the Black Knights. The dynamic duo will look to off-set the loss of Conor Hayes (17 goals, 13 assists, 30 points) and Devin Lynch (21, 6, 27) to graduation after Hayes and Lynch finished third and fourth, respectively, in scoring for Army in 2012.

The Black Knights will debut a new starting goalie this year following the graduation of 2012 starter Zach Palmieri, who finished with a 9.31 goals against average and .494 save percentage during the most recent campaign. Army returns three defensemen who saw considerable time keeping foes away from the Black Knights net a season ago in Brendan Buckley, Drew Kearns and Pat Hart. Buckley started all 15 games and tallied 30 caused turnovers to go with 23 groundballs scooped up. Combined, Kearns and Hart added 16 groundballs and 12 caused turnovers as Army finished with a 9.29 goals against average on the year. Overall, the Black Knights outscored foes over their 15 contests, 152-140; however, the opposition recorded a better shot percentage, .300-.274 and shots on goal mark (.589-.566).

LAST TIME VS. ARMY
Will Manny scored a career-high seven goals and nine points to lead the No. 11 UMass men's lacrosse team to a 12-9 season-opening win at Army on Friday afternoon at Michie Stadium. Manny's nine-point performance was the first since Jeff Zywicki did the same against Albany in 2003. The win was also head coach Greg Cannella's 150th career victory.

Along with Manny's career day, Kyle Smith posted a career-high four goals including a pair of key tallies late in the fourth quarter after Army (0-1) had pulled within a goal.

Tim McCormack picked up with win in cage making eight saves.

The Black Knights were led by Andrew Boyd, Garrett Thul, and John Glesener who each had two goals. Zach Palmieri took the loss in goal making 10 saves.

Smith started the scoring on the day at the 12:18 mark of the first quarter. His goal was followed up by a pair of Manny tallies as the Minutemen took a 3-0 lead with 4:24 left in the first. Army climbed back with a pair of markers to make it a 3-2 game heading into the second quarter.

With a man-up advantage still left from the end of the first, Manny capitalized just 14 seconds into the second quarter giving UMass a 4-2 lead. Colin Fleming added a goal just over two minutes later to put the Minutemen up by three.

Army again answered with a pair of goals, but Manny added his fourth and fifth goals of the first half followed by a man-up score from Smith to give UMass an 8-5 lead at halftime.

The teams traded a pair of goals in the second half with Manny scoring his sixth and seventh tallies in that frame. His unassisted goal off a loose ball outside the crease gave the Minutemen a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Thul scored at the 11:00 mark of the fourth quarter and Glesener added another tally with 7:02 left to pull the Black Knights within one, 10-9, but Smith added another pair of goals and the defense stood tall aided by three saves from McCormack in the final six minutes.

Manny narrowly missed tying the UMass record for most goals in a game when his shot with 5:57 left in the game hit the inside of the backside post.

The Minutemen outshot Army 36-to-32 for the day and were 2-for-3 with the man-up advantage, while holding the Black Knights to just 1-for-3 with the extra man.

LAST TIME OUT: MINUTEMEN FALL TO #9 COLGATE, 13-11
A four-goal fourth quarter gave No. 9 Colgate a 13-11 win over the sixth-seeded and No. 1 ranked UMass men's lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon at Garber Field. The Minutemen led 10-9 after three quarters, but the Raiders finished the game scoring three unanswered taking their first lead of the game with 7:12 left before scoring again three minutes later to secure a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Minutemen finish suffered their first loss of the season to end 2012 with a 15-1 record.

Art Kell led the Minutemen with three goals, while Colin Fleming had two goals and an assist. Conor Mooney, Steve D'Amario, Bobby Tyler and Will Manny each posted a goal and an assist each. Defensively, Greg Rushing had three caused turnovers and six groundballs, while Tom Celentani had two caused turnovers and four groundballs. Tim McCormack made 13 saves in goal.

Peter Baum, the nation's leading scorer coming into the contest, Matt Baker, and Ryan Walsh each scored twice for Colgate (14-3). Baum and Walsh each added assists as well. Conor Murphy made his first career start in goal making a game-high 15 saves to earn his first career win.

UMass jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game as Kell opened up the scoring just under four minutes into the contest. Fleming scored back-to-back goals as the Minutemen looked sharp in the first 10 minutes of play. Colgate's Brendon McCann got the Raiders on the board with 2:49 left in the quarter as UMass to a 3-1 lead into the second.

Mooney put UMass back up by three just 43 seconds into the second, but seven seconds later, Chris Zielinski scored off the faceoff making the score 4-2.

The Minutemen stretched the lead to 7-2 thanks to three straight goals, but Colgate responded with a three goal run to close the second quarter with UMass leading 7-5 at halftime.

Out of the intermission, it looked as if the Minutemen had regained momentum scoring two straight on goals from D'Amario and Kell to go up 9-5 with 9:54 left in the third. Four straight Colgate goals punctuated by Baker's second of the game with 37 seconds to go tied the game 9-9. Anthony Toresco popped the next faceoff towards goal, collected the groundball and then scored six seconds after Baker's tally to give the lead back to UMass 10-9.

Patrick Campbell's first goal of the season tied the game for the third time at the 10:25 mark of the fourth. Just under two minutes later, Anthony Biscardi netted his first goal of the game to put the Minutemen back on top 11-10.

Walsh tied the game again with 7:58 to go followed by Zielinski's second of the game giving Colgate its first lead of the game, 12-11, with 7:12 left in regulation.

Murphy made three saves and the Raider defense block a pair of UMass shots and forced a pair of turnovers to hold the Minutemen at bay to seal the win. UMass had three possessions in the final three minutes of the quarter, but were unable to capitalize.

MINUTEMEN RECEIVE PRESEASON RECOGNITION
The Minutemen received high praise from the Colonial Athletic Association and national polls during the 2013 preseason, with the squad expected to challenge for the CAA Title and an NCAA Tournament berth yet again. The CAA picked UMass to win the conference ahead of Penn State (picked 2nd), Drexel and Hofstra (t-3rd), Delaware (5th), Towson (6th) and Saint Joseph's (7th).

During the announcement, the CAA also recognized senior attack Will Manny as the preseason conference player of the year while tabbing Colin Fleming, Ryan Hollenbaugh and Jake Smith to join Manny on the preseason all-CAA listing.

Nationally, the Minutemen are featured in each of the major polls, including ranking 12th in the USILA Coaches Ranking and 13th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Top-20.

MANNY AMONG NATION'S OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Senior attack Will Manny stands among the top offensive performers in the nation entering the 2013 campaign after a trio of successful seasons at the collegiate level. Manny begins his final year with 167 points on 93 goals and 74 assists, standing 11th all-time among Minutemen and only four points shy of taking over 10th place from Brendan Glass (1994-97). Nationally, Manny ranks among the most prolific scorers in college lacrosse, placing third for career assists with 73, fifth with consecutive games with at least one goal, at 17, and seventh in goals scored with 93.

2012 SEASON RECAP
UMass men's lacrosse reached as high as No. 1 in the national rankings while finishing the year with a 15-1 overall record and 6-0 mark in Colonial Athletic Association competition during 2012 en route to CAA Regular Season and Tournament Titles. Prior to the loss to No. 9 Colgate, the Minutemen reeled off 15 consecutive victories during the regular season to mark the first time since 1969 that UMass entered NCAA Tournament with an unblemished record on the year. The string of triumphs included four of USILA Top-20 teams, with wins over #11 Ohio State, 9-3; #12 Bucknell, 11-9; #14 Penn State in overtime, 9-8; and #19 Towson, 14-13.

Then-junior attack Will Manny finished the campaign as a Tewaaraton Award finalist with 77 points on 44 goals and 33 assists, also taking home USILA First Team All-America and New England and CAA Player of the Year laurels. Classmate Jake Smith also tallied USILA All-America honors along with Anthony Biscardi, Tom Celentani, Art Kell and Tim McCormack while Greg Cannella was named the CAA Coach of the Year.

MINUTEMEN EARN TOP SPOT IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
UMass entered the 2012 NCAA Tournament as the nation's No. 1 team in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and the USILA Coaches Poll. The Minutemen were seven points ahead of Loyola and captured 8-of-9 first place votes in the coaches poll. In the media poll, UMass was also 7 points ahead of Loyola and held 14-of-18 first place votes. The updated poll marked second straight week and for the third time in the previous four that UMass was No. 1 in the country.

At No. 1 in the April 16 USILA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the April 16 Media Poll, the UMass men's lacrosse program achieved its highest national ranking ever. Prior to being ranked No. 2 for three weeks (March 27 - April 9), the previous high for a national ranking was No. 3, which the Minutemen did this season, in 2003 and in 2001.

MANNY NAMED TEWAARATON FINALIST
Will Manny was named one of five finalists for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award, which is given annually to college lacrosse's top individual player. Manny joined Colgate attackman Peter Baum, Duke midfielder C.J. Costabile, Loyola attackman Mike Sawyer, and Virginia attack Steele Stanwick. Manny was just the second Minuteman in program history to be named one of the five finalist. Sean Morris twice earned the honor, doing so in 2005 and 2006.

UMASS SETS WINS RECORD
The wins over Towson and Drexel in the CAA Championship Tournament marked yet another milestone for the 2012 Minutemen. Not only did the program secure its first-ever CAA Tournament Championship, but the 15 victories marked a program record for wins in a season. The previous record was 13, which UMass achieved on four occasions, most recently in 2005 and 2006.

The 15 wins on the year also tied for the 15th-most in NCAA history. The all-time NCAA record for wins in a season is 18, accomplished by Duke in 2008.

NO BANANA'S FOR GARBER'S GORILLAS
Garber Field has proven to be one of the toughest home field advantages in all of college lacrosse. Set within the UMass tree-lined campus and adjacent to the historic Curry Hicks Cage, the Minutemen have posted a 71-20 record at Garber over the last 11 years. UMass was a scoring machine at home during the 2012 campaign, posting 126 goals (14.0 per game) while allowing just 63 against (7.0 per game).

ALL WE DO IS WIN, WIN, WIN
UMass has established itself as one of the top programs in the nation. Since 2001, UMass sits just behind Cornell with the seventh-most wins of any program in college lacrosse with 124 victories.

The Minutemen have the seventh-best win mark among all teams in the NCAA since 2001 with a 124-58 record for a 68.1 win percentage mark. This total includes six seasons with 12 or more wins, including a school record 15 victories last year. Nationally, Duke leads the way in most wins (148) while Virginia follows with 147.

OFFENSIVE TRIO ONLY GROUP AT 50 POINTS IN NCAA
UMass boasted one of the top scoring offenses overall in the country in 2012, but its key trademark is a balance among the trio of Will Manny, Art Kell and Kyle Smith. Manny led the group with a team-high 77 points, while Kell and Smith finished with 53 and 52, respectively. With the dynamic group, UMass was the only team in the country to have three players with 50 or more points in the scoring column.

The 182 combined points from the trio accounts for 52.9 percent of UMass' total (344) while the trio also holds 110 of UMass' 207 goals scored (53.1).

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
An experienced and talented trio of long poles, anchored by goalie Tim McCormack turned in one of the best defensive seasons in program history. UMass allowed double-figure scoring just three times all season (Colgate, 13 goals; Hofstra, 13; Drexel, 12) while forcing opponents into more turnovers than the Minutemen in 11-of-16 games.

Of the top-25 point producers in the country, UMass has faced nine of them, holding six in the group to two points or fewer in games against the Minutemen. Bucknell's Billy Eisenrich posted six points on three goals and three assists in the Bison's 12-9 loss to UMass, while Joe Resetarits had a trio of goals and an assist in Albany's defeat to the Minutemen while Peter Baum had a pair of goals and an assist for No. 9 Colgate during the NCAA Tournament First Round.

SPECIAL TEAMS MAKING AN IMPACT
UMass was paced by strong special teams play throughout the 2012 season. With the man-up advantage, the Minutemen converted at a 39.7 percent clip, which ranked 19th in the NCAA. The man-down unit completed phenomenal work over the final seven games allowing opponents to convert just 7-of-46 (15.2 percent) extra-man opportunities. For the season, UMass ranked 4th in the NCAA in man-down defense at 75.9 percent (63-of-83 killed).

The Minutemen put the man-down unit to the test over the final five games, taking at least five penalties in each, including 10 in the Towson and Drexel games during the CAA Tournament. Prior to that stretch, UMass had taken five or more penalties in a game just twice.

Colin Fleming led the squad in man-up goals with seven on the year while Will Manny, Kyle Smith and Art Kell each produced six.