Men's Lacrosse | 4/21/2017 11:38:00 AM
NJIT men's lacrosse travels to Manhattan on Saturday for a 7pm game against the Jaspers at Gaelic Park.
The Highlanders are coming off their first win of 2017 looking to get their first win streak in program history, while the Jaspers look to snap an eight game losing streak.
ALL TIME SERIES
Manhattan leads the series 2-0.
In their first meeting in 2015 the Japsers won 7-5 in a close game at Gaelic Park. Manhattan took a 5-2 lead in the first, and never relinquished their lead, despite the Highlanders comeback. NJIT picked up 25 ground balls to the Jaspers 18 and were 10-of-12 on clears.
Last season, the Highlanders fell 14-5 despite outshooting their opponents 55-31. Goal keeper Michael Zingaro was a big part of Manhattan's win, stopping 21 of NJIT's shot on goal.
Matt Brown and
Ryan Callaghan each posted a goal for the Highlanders.
A LOOK AT THE JASPERS
The Jaspers (2-10) have struggled in the later part of the season, and are on an eight game losing streak that started against Saint Joseph's on March 4.
Seven Jaspers have double-digit points in Parker Giarratana, CJ Sharf, Trevor Pelletier, Matt Garvey, Brandon Grinnell, Luke Hanson and Reid Martin.
Sophomore Giarratana is Manhattan's stand out player, and the only Jasper to be named to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC team after winning Rookie of the Year in 2016.
Giarratana leads the team in goals (26) and points (35) with six man-up goals and the two game-winners in Manhattan's two wins this season.
CJ Sharf leads the team in assists with 14 and has eight goals for 22 points.
Trevor Pelletier and Matt Garvey each have 18 points on the year, Pelletier with 14 goals and four assists and Garvey 13 goals and five assists.
Brandon Grinnell has 17 points (10g, 7a), and Luke Hanson 16 points (8g, 8a), while Reid Martin posts 10 points (8g, 2a).
Leading the team in ground balls is face-off specialist Joseph Bressingham with 68 and is 121-233 on the face-off circle with a .519 win percentage. Bressingham ranks 17
th in the nation in ground balls per game (6.18) and 38
th in face-off percentage.
Defensively Dylan DeMuro and Kelson Borisenko each have seven caused turnovers.
In goal for the Jaspers is Michael Zingaro who has started all 12 games, and has 148 saves on the year with a .464 save percentage and two wins. Zingaro ranks fourth in the nation in saves per game with 12.33.
A LOOK AT THE HIGHLANDERS
The Highlanders (1-12) are coming off their first win of 2017, a 17-3 victory over Hampton on April 15, and their second win in program history.
NJIT broke seven program records in the win, including goals in a game (17), assists in a game (14), points in a game (31), face-offs won (19) and three individual records broken by
Aaron Forster for assists in a game (5) and points in a game (9) and
Tyler Stevenson with face-off wins in a game (17).
Sophomore Forster, who has broken eight NJIT records this season and holds nine total, leads the team in goals (32) and points (41).
With his two new records in the game against Hampton, Forster also broke the records for career assists (22), career goals (47), career points (69), goals in a game (5) and holds the record for goals in a season.
Forster also has six man-up goals this season, ranking him tied for third in the nation in man-up goals, and ranks 23
rd in goals per game with 2.46.
The Ryan triple threat of
Ryan Callaghan,
Ryan Darrow and
Ryan Kaden combine for 38 goals and 24 assists between them.
Callaghan comes off a career-best performance against Hampton tallying three goals and four assists for seven points. The senior has 18 goals and a team-leading 10 assists for 28 points and has a 16 game point streak happening that started on April 2, 2016.
Sophomore Darrow is third on the team in goals with 12 and has seven assists for 19 points, while freshman Kaden has 15 points on eight goals and seven assists.
Matt Brown is the only other Highlander with over 10 points for NJIT, earning 11 points on five goals and six assists.
John Tachon is the team leader in ground balls with 61 and caused turnovers with 16. The freshman broke the NJIT record for caused turnovers in a season notching his 15
th against Lafayette. Tachon ranks 35
th in the nation in ground balls per game (4.69).
Tyler Stevenson grabbed an NJIT record getting 17 face-off wins against Hampton. The sophomore boasts a 60-164 record equaling a .415 win percentage.
Junior captain
Nick Marzullo has earned eight starts for the Highlanders, posting 93 saves and a .517 save percentage.
Cameron Cronk has five starts on the year appearing in nine games and stopping 69 shots with a .469 save percentage.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Highlanders host UMass-Lowell for their final game of 2017 at Drew University's Ranger Stadium on April 29 at 12pm.
UMass-Lowell leads the series 2-0.
