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#18 UMASS (4-2) at #15 BROWN (3-1)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 • 4 p.m.
Meister-Kavan Field (1,000) • Providence, R.I.
Streaming Audio: UMassAthletics.com
Live Stats: UMassAthletics.com

New England Rivalry On Tap For Tuesday: UMass at Brown
• One of the top lacrosse rivalries in all of New England will be renewed on Tuesday afternoon as No. 18 UMass travels to No. 15 Brown for a 4 p.m., face-off at Meister-Kavan Field in Providence. The Minutemen (4-2) come into the game following a week off after a 17-3 win over Providence at Garber Field, last Tuesday. The Bears (3-1) come off a big win over then-No. 14 Harvard, 13-11, last Saturday at Harvard Stadium. Brown has won three games in a row since a season-opening loss to Hofstra, 15-12.

• With the 17-3 win over Providence, UMass had its largest margin of victory since 2002 when the Minutemen beat Hartford, 19-5 on March 23.

• Live audio and live stats will be available on UMassAthletics.com.

• The mid-week clash with Brown is the first of two huge games for the Minutemen as UMass hosts its inaugural CAA conference game on Saturday, March 27 as No. 6 Hofstra comes to Garber Field for a 1 p.m. face-off.

Offensive Explosion Early On
• Tuesday's game pits two of the top scoring teams in the nation as UMass comes into the contest third in the NCAA in goals per game (14.7). Brown ranks seventh with 14.0 per game. Robert Morris leads the country with 15.9, followed by Stony Brook (15.3).

• UMass has at least 11 goals in every game this season with a season-high of 20 against Hartford (2/20).

• UMass has a well-rounded offense with five players tallying more than 15 points. Sophomore attacker Art Kell leads the team in scoring with 24 points on a team-high 16 goals and eight assists. He is tied for 20th in the NCAA in points per game with 4.0. He is also tied for 18th in goals per game with 2.7. Kell comes off a career-high five goals and six-point effort vs. Providence last Tuesday.

• Kell has at least two points in every game this season and at least two goals in five of six games.

• Senior captain midfielder Bobby Hayes is tied for second on the team in points with 19 and stands second in goals with 12. Hayes has points in all six games this season and has points in eight games in a row dating to last season. Hayes leads UMass in man-up goals with four.

• Freshman attacker Will Manny also has 19 points on 11 goals and a team-best tying eight assists. Manny ranks 35th in the NCAA with 1.6 assists per game. Manny has at least two points in every game this season.

• Junior midfielders Ryan Hantverk (11 goals, 6 assists for 17 points) and Anthony Biscardi (9 goals, 6 assists for 15 points) have been very consistent along side of Hayes. UMass' first midfield has a combined 32 goals and 19 assists for 51 points.

• UMass has been well-rounded on offense with 14 different players scoring and 11 with at least two goals. Five different players have nine or more goals and eight players have at least five goals.

• Senior midfielder Christian Hain has five goals and four assists for nine points on the second midfield. Freshman K.R. Jurgelevich leads all rookie midfielders with five goals and seven points.

• Junior attacker Ryan Liebel also has seven goals and senior captain Ryan Smith has four goals.

The Series With Brown
• Brown leads the long-standing New England rivalry, 26-21-1. Brown leads 10-8-1 in games played in Providence. The Bears also hold a slight 15-13 edge in Amherst after last season's 9-8 win at Garber Field.

• The Bears have won three in a row and four of the last six, including the last low-scoring affairs. In 2007, Brown won 7-4, while it also won in 2008, 4-3.

• In the last meeting at Brown, Bear Brian Asher knocked the ball away from UMass' Bobby Hayes with 12 seconds left in the game to help the Bears preserve a 4-3 win over the Minutemen on March 15, 2008. UMass' Tim Balise had scored his second goal of the game with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter to get the Minutemen within a goal. UMass outshot Brown, 38-27 on the day. The Bears goalkeeper, Jordan Burke, played very well in goal, making 16 saves. UMass limited Brown to just eight shots on goal all afternoon as the defense was strong yet again.

• The seven total goals marked the lowest scoring game UMass played in since April 19, 1966, when UMass beat MIT, 3-1. The three goals for UMass was the fewest since a 6-3 loss to Navy on March 11, 2000.

• The Minutemen have had three ties all-time, one of which was against Brown in 1955 by an 8-8 final. The other two were against Holy Cross (1962) and Oberlin (1967).

The Last Meeting:
Brown 9, UMass 8
• UMass shot early and often, but Brown's All-American goalie Jordan Burke was up to the challenge has he posted 20 saves as the No. 18 Bears topped the No. 13 Minutemen, 9-8, on a sunny afternoon at Garber Field on March 14, 2009. The Minutemen had multiple chances late in the game, but Burke stopped five shots in the fourth quarter including three saves in the final minute as UMass (3-3) peppered him. Minuteman goalie Doc Schneider was stellar as well making 14 saves between the pipes. Brown (4-1) received a career day from senior Reade Seligmann, who posted his first-career hat trick. Freshman Rob Schlesinger also scored the first two goals of his career for Brown.

• UMass senior Jim Connolly scored two goals for the Minutemen but was stopped by Burke twice in the final 30 seconds. Freshman Art Kell had his first-career multi-point day with a goal and two assists.

• Seligmann's second goal which he shot between his legs with six seconds left in the third quarter was the decisive goal as it broke a 6-6 tie and Brown would never trail. He added his third of the game 2:51 into the fourth quarter for the two-goal edge, 8-6.

• The Minutemen got to within a goal twice in the final 12 minutes. Ryan Hantverk ripped a laser to cut the lead to 8-7 with 11:59 left in regulation. Schlesinger, who scored his first goal on a midfield run to goal in the second quarter, scored an unassisted goal with 10:11 left in the game. UMass once again came to within one as senior Tim Balise took a pretty feed from Kell and beat Burke on the left side with 9:36 left in the game. But that was the last ball to reach the back of the net on either side.

Minute Matters
• Sophomore defenseman Tom Celentani is off to a sensational starting in his first season as a starter on close defense. He leads the team in caused turnovers with 16, which ranks third in the NCAA. He also has 14 groundballs.

• Sophomore face-off man Greg Rushing has been strong on face-offs recently. This season he is 61-of-106 on draws for 57.5 percent. He also leads the team in groundballs with 28. He won a career-best 16-of-21 for 76.2 percent against Albany (3/9) as he scooped six groundballs. Rushing won 14 face-offs vs. Harvard (3/13) and grabbed a career-high eight groundballs.

• Junior Casey Rahn is second on the team with 17 groundballs, as the team's top long-pole on defense and the face-off wing.

• Senior captain Diogo Godoi is second on the team in caused turnovers with 10 along with his 13 groundballs.

• Six Minutemen have double-figure groundballs. In addition to Rushing (28), Rahn (17), Celentani (14) and Godoi (13), short-stick Stephen Zorkers has 15 and face-off man Anthony Toresco has 16 groundballs.

Best Scoring Start Since 2001
• With 88 goals in the first six games, UMass has its best offensive start to a season since 2001 when the Minutemen scored 105 goals as they started the year 6-0.

• The last time UMass had at least 11 in goals in each of the first five games -- as they do this season -- was in 2001, a 6-0 start.

• In 2010, UMass had its best three-game start in scoring since 1990, with 47 goals this season. It was the best since 1990, when the Minutemen tallied 70 goals in its first three games. In a trip to Arizona, UMass beat the Wildcats, 27-8 and Whittier College, 28-7 in back-to-back games. That was followed up with a 16-15 loss to Cornell, for a total of 70 goals in the first three games.

20-Goal Outburst Vs. Hartford
• UMass had its highest scoring game in eight years with a 20-10 win over Hartford in the home opener on Feb. 20. The 20 goals were the most since a 21-9 win over Rutgers on May 4, 2002. Ryan Hantverk led the way with a career-high four goals while Ryan Smith scored the first three goals of his career for a hat trick. Bobby Hayes also had a hat trick for the second game in a row.

• The Minutemen jumped out to a 13-7 halftime lead, marking the most goals in a half since that same Rutgers game in 2002. Against the Scarlet Knights, UMass had a 14-goal second half including an 11-goal fourth quarter. Against Hartford, UMass led 8-2 after the first 15 minutes with five goals in the game's first 6:34.

Manny Named CAA Rookie Of The Week
• Freshman attacker Will Manny was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 22 after a seven-point effort in the first two games of the season. Manny is among the national leaders in assists with five, ranking fifth in the country.

Big Winners Over Last 10 Years
• UMass has established itself as one of the top programs in the nation. Since 2001, UMass has the seventh-most wins of any program in college lacrosse with 95 victories.

• The Minutemen have the ninth-best mark among all teams in the NCAA since 2001 with an 94-48 record for a 66.2 win percentage mark. That includes five seasons with 12 or more wins including a school record 13 wins in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. The Minutemen were second on the list coming into the 2007 season.

Lucky Number 11, No More
• UMass had won 45 games in a row when scoring 11 or more goals until falling at Yale, 13-12 on March 5, 2010. The Minutemen also lost to Harvard, 14-13 on March 13, marking the most goals UMass scored in a loss since a 16-15 defeat to Delaware on April 15, 1995. UMass had won 67 games in a row when scoring 13 or more goals.

• UMass has now won 68 of its last 69 games when scoring 13 goals, after the 17-3 win over Providence.

• The Minutemen have at least 11 goals in every game this season with a 4-2 record and have won 47 of their last 49 games when tallying 11 or more.

• Prior to the Yale loss, UMass' last loss when they had more than 11 came in the 2002 NCAA Quarterfinals, a 13-12 loss at Johns Hopkins.

• The streak lasted eight years to 2002 -- meaning the last four senior classes had never lost when scoring 11 or more goals.

• Last season UMass had four 11-plus efforts in 2009. UMass beat Rutgers 11-10 in overtime in the regular-season finale to go along with 12-6 wins over Fairfield (4/21) and St. John's (4/4) and a 18-6 win over Yale (2/28).

• UMass is 36-3 in its last 39 games when scoring double-figures, starting 4-2 this year and a 5-1 mark last year. UMass had won 29 games in a row when scoring 10 or more goals, but that streak was snapped with a 11-10 loss to Hofstra on Feb. 21, 2009. The Minutemen were 29-0 when scoring 10 or more goals from 2004-09. Prior to the loss at Hofstra, the last loss when scoring 10 goals came on May 1, 2004, a 17-10 loss at Syracuse.

Thumbnail Sketch Of The Minutemen
• Coming off the program's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, the UMass men's lacrosse team is in its 57th season, starting in 1954. All-time, UMass has a 474-247-3 record.

• The Minutemen are ranked 18th in this week's USILA Coaches Poll and 19th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. UMass was as high as No. 12 in the March 1 USILA poll this season.

• Last season, the Minutemen finished 9-6 overall and captured the ECAC Championship with a 6-1 league record. UMass fell to Princeton in the NCAA Tournament First Round, 10-7, in New Jersey.

• Head coach Greg Cannella is in his 16th season as head coach at his alma mater. Overall, the 1988 UMass grad has a 135-86 career record, winning more than 61.1 percent of the games he has coached. He ranks among the Top 15 among active coaches in the NCAA in career wins and win percentage.

• The Minutemen are beginning play in a new league in 2010, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). UMass made the move to the league after a national shuffle caused by the formation of the Big East Conference in lacrosse. The Minutemen joined the CAA along with former ECAC member Penn State and will compete in a six-team league along with longtime CAA members Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson.

• Coming into 2010, UMass will have plenty of new faces in key positions. The Minutemen graduated All-Conference players including ECAC Goalie of the Year and Second-Team All-American Doc Schneider (7.43 GAA and 65.3 Save Pct.) along with its two leading scorers in Tim Balise (31 goals, 5 assists for 36 points) and Jim Connolly (39-5=44). Also, graduated were the fourth and fifth leading scorers in Evan Blum (14-8-22) and Rory Pedrick (12-6=18). Overall, UMass returned just 41 goals of its 143 goals from last season, just 28.7 percent. The leading returning scorer is senior captain midfielder Bobby Hayes (12-14=26), who led the team in assists in 2009. Fellow senior captain attackman Ryan Smith is expected to pick up some of the load in his first season as a starter. Sophomore Art Kell was the top rookie scorer a year ago with 11 goals and three assists and will be back to start on attack.

• The goalie position will have a new face for the first time in four years as Schneider graduated as one of the all-time greats in UMass history. He finished second in career saves with 753 and is now serving as an assistant coach with the Minutemen. Redshirt sophomore Tim McCormack and freshman Steve Mahle battled for the starting role in preseason camp with McCormack getting the nod to start the year. McCormack redshirted last season to retain three years of eligibility while Mahle was starring at West Genesee High School in upstate New York.

• An area with experience heading into 2010 is the close defense, as UMass returns 2009 All-American and 2010 Preseason All-American Diogo Godoi as a senior captain. Godoi will team with returning sophomore Greg Anderson and junior Travis Tripucka. That duo shared starting duties last season along side Godoi and graduated Brennan Mack. Sophomore Tom Celentani has also seen extended playing time on close defense. Junior long-pole Casey Rahn and junior short-stick Stephen Zorkers will also be key to the defense's success.

Godoi Preseason 2nd-Team All-American
• Senior captain defenseman Diogo Godoi was named an Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Magazine Preseason All-American. He was an Honorable Mention USILA All-American last season. He will return for his senior year with numerous honors as has been also named an All-ECAC First Team defender and an All-New England pick. He anchored a UMass defense that finished the season 11th nationally in fewest goals allowed (7.93). He shut down the opponent's top scorer on numerous occasions, including in the NCAA Tournament contest at Princeton when he held the Tigers' top scorer Jack McBride (a Second-Team All-American) pointless. He started all 15 games while recording 28 groundballs and 21 caused turnovers, tied for most on team. He was twice named to Inside Lacrosse Team of the Week on March 23 and April 6.

UMass Picked Second In CAA; Trio Earn Honors
• UMass was picked to finish second in the CAA based on the preseason lacrosse coaches poll. Hofstra was selected to win the league in the coaches' vote. The Minutemen placed three players on the preseason All-CAA team in senior midfielder Bobby Hayes, junior long-stick midfielder Casey Rahn and senior defenseman Diogo Godoi. The three selections was the second most in the league behind Delaware's four picks. This is UMass' first year in the CAA after playing in the ECAC, a league UMass captured the crown in last season.

UMass Wins 2009 ECAC Championship
• UMass won its fourth ECAC Championship in its final season in the league, before moving to the CAA in 2010. The Minutemen won the league in thrilling fashion as Tim Balise scored the game-winning overtime goal, his fifth of the game for the 11-10 victory at Rutgers (5/2). Balise and classmate Jim Connolly (3) combined for eight goals in the win. Doc Schneider made 19 saves including one off the opening face-off win by the Rutgers.

• The Minutemen also captured the league crown in 2001, 2002 and 2005. In 2002 UMass also claimed the league's automatic qualifier. The Minutemen lost the tiebreaker to Georgetown in 2001 and in 2005, the league did not have an AQ.

• UMass ended in a tie with Loyola atop the ECAC at 6-1, but claimed the crown by virtue of its 8-6 win at Loyola on March 21.

UMass Claims 2009 ECAC Honors
• ECAC Lacrosse Champion UMass collected three of the top honors in the conference on Tuesday as Greg Cannella was named the Coach of the Year, senior attacker Jim Connolly was named the Offensive Player of the Year and senior Doc Schneider was named the Goalie of the Year. Connolly and Schneider were joined on the ECAC First-Team by senior attacker Tim Balise and junior defenseman Diogo Godoi. Junior midfielder Bobby Hayes was named to the second team.