Game 5	vs #18/RV Lehigh (2-1)
Date | Time	Saturday, February 22 | 12:00 pm
Location | Arena	Newark, N.J. | Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium
Live Video	NEC Front Row
Live Stats	In-Game Statistics
Tickets	Ticket Info
All-Time Series	Lehigh leads 4-0
Game Notes	NJIT | LEHIGH

NEWARK, N.J. --- The NJIT men's lacrosse team opens its season-long four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when the Highlanders host No. 18 Lehigh.

LAST TIME OUT
NJIT ended its three-game road stretch with a 13-1 defeat at Delaware on February 15. Senior Ryan Kaden and freshman Owen Corry connected for NJIT's only goal of the day, tying the contest at 1-1 with 8:18 left in the first quarter on Kaden's fifth score of the year and Corry's second career assist.

Kaden, along with senior Matthew Bowerman, led NJIT (1- 3) with three ground balls while senior John Tachon paced the Highlanders with four caused turnovers. 

STOPPING THEM ALL
Freshman Liam Brown matched former Highlander Alexzander Hunt (at No. 13 Lehigh, 2/2/19) for the fifth-highest single-game save total in school history (19). Brown's save total is also currently tied for fourth-most in a game nationally (as of February 19).

(GOOD AT) MAN DOWN
NJIT currently sits tied for fifth in the NCAA in Man Down Defense. The Highlanders have only allowed opponents to score one extra-man goal in ten tries across four games (.900).

CAUSE AND EFFECT
Tachon is averaging 3.00 caused turnovers a game so far, which has him in a tie for fourth place nationally. 

TOP OF THE HEAP
After four games, the Highlanders' season-opening performance versus Hampton still holds single-game spots in the top five nationally in goals (24, T-2nd; 2 shy of the NJIT school record), assists (15, T-3rd), and points (39, 4th). Additionally, NJIt is tied for 8th in faceoffs won from the Hampton game (20)

STARTING STRONG
NJIT's opening quarter of the season against Hampton was one to remember. The Highlanders scored 11 goals in the first 15 minutes of the season, more than any other quarter in program history.

THE FIRST OF MANY
Ryan Kaden scored the first goal on the new Lubetkin Field, putting home an unassisted shot at the 12:21 mark of the first quarter of the Hampton game.

THREE'S COMPANY
Ryan Kaden and Collin Fogerty's hat tricks at Monmouth were the 22nd and 23rd three-goal performances in NJIT history and the first and second in their respective careers.

NEW FIELD, NEW LEAGUE, NEW ERA
After playing the vast majority of its home games away from campus and as an independent over the first five years of the program, sixth-year head coach Travis Johnson will lead the Highlanders into a new era this season as members of the Northeast Conference and the final tenants to play on NJIT's brand new turf field.

NJIT accepted the NEC's invitation in the fall of 2018 and will join fellow lacrosse-only members Saint Joseph's and Hobart College in the ten-team league along with NEC core members Bryant, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner.

"We are very excited to join the Northeast Conference as an associate member in men's lacrosse. Since our program's inception, we have been searching for a competitive league within our geographic region and the NEC is a perfect fit," said Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan at the time of the announcement. "This partnership is the final piece to help us grow into the competitive program that we envisioned since its launch. On behalf of NJIT athletics, specifically our lacrosse student-athletes and coaches, I want to thank Commissioner Morris for this exciting opportunity," Kaplan said.

"Our program couldn't be more excited to join the NEC. There are so many great programs, coaches and players right around the corner from us," Johnson said at the announcement. "Our student-athletes can now compete for a conference playoff bid, a conference championship and an NCAA bid. These are great times for our program, which is truly thankful for the dedicated efforts of Dr. Joel Bloom and Lenny Kaplan."

Lacrosse will be the third and final team to play on Lubetkin Field, which officially opened on August 22 when Women's Soccer hosted UMBC. It will also mark the first time since the program's inaugural season that Lacrosse will play on-campus (last on-campus game: April 14, 2014 vs Dartmouth). 

Features of Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium include: a digital videoboard capable of displaying live video, animation, player headshots, graphics and statistics; a scoreboard, Musco LED Lighting; and field level seating for spectators. The facility also meets broadcast standards for potential NCAA Regional hosting opportunities. An enclosed spacious press box with high-speed internet access and seating for media and radio broadcasters, as well as athletic training and locker rooms are located next to the field inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center, which opened in November 2017.

2020 CAPTAINS
Helping to lead the 2020 Highlanders will be a trio of captains - seniors Luke Binder (defender), Ryan Kaden (attack), and John Tachon (defender). Kaden and Tachon served the team as captains last season while Binder will take on the role after the graduations of seniors Ryan Darrow and Aaron Forster.

IN 2019...
- NJIT won multiple games for the first time in its history (8-5 vs Monmouth on March 5 and 26-9 at Hampton on April 6)
- The Highlanders set new team marks for goals in a game (26 at Hampton) and goals in a season (153)
- Aaron Forster was drafted 15th overall by the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Draft after leaving NJIT with virtually every Highlander offensive record to his name.

TOP RETURNERS (2019 TOTALS)
- Goals: Collin Fogerty (15)
- Assists: Fogerty (17)
- Points: Fogerty (32)
- Ground Balls: John Tachon (57)
- Man-Up Goals: Noah Kepes (2)
- Faceoff Pct.: Sean Duncan (.247 | 22-89)
- Shots: Fogerty (67)
- SOG: Fogerty (36 | .537)
- Caused Turnovers: Tachon (15)

STIFF COMPETITION
The Highlanders will face a pair of teams ranked in initial polls and one just outside the preseason top-20. NJIT will travel to Army West Point (No. 15 USILA) on February 10 and host Lehigh (No. 20 USILA) on February 22 to begin a four-game home stand in Newark. NJIT will face fellow NEC member Robert Morris - one of eight teams to receive consideration for the USILA preseason poll but not make the top-20 - on March 21 in Pennsylvania. In addition, Delaware received votes in both polls prior to their meeting on February 15

2020 SCHEDULE NOTES
- NJIT will play a 14-game schedule, with its contests evenly split between home, road, non-conference, and NEC contests - seven of each.
- First home game on new Lubetkin Field: February 1 vs Hampton
- First road game: February 8 at Monmouth
- First-ever NEC game: March 14 vs LIU
- First NEC road game: March 21 at Robert Morris
- NJIT will open 2020 with the two opponents it earned wins over in 2019, Hampton and Monmouth. The Highlanders edged Monmouth at home (8-5 on March 5) and handled Hampton on the road (26-9 on April 6).
- NJIT will be playing five of their seven NEC opponents - LIU, Robert Morris, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, and Bryant - for the first time ever.
- The Highlanders will face three of the five programs the team has played in all five years of its existence: at Monmouth (Feb. 8), vs Manhattan (Mar. 7), and at Wagner (Mar. 28). The program-opening game streaks will end against Quinnpiac and Lafayette.

ALL-TIME SERIES
NJIT currently trails Lehigh 0-4 in the all-time series. The Highlanders opened the 2019 season at No. 13 Lehigh on February 2, falling 15-8.

SCOUTING LEHIGH
Lehigh, currently ranked 18th in the Inside Lacrosse poll and receiving votes in the USILA poll, moved to 2-1 on the season after a 14-11 home win over VMI on February 20. The Mountain Hawks opened the year with a 16-11 win over Utah and a loss at No. 1/2 Virginia, 12-8. Lehigh is led by Tommy Schelling (13 G, 6 A, 19 pts), Connor Gaffney (21 GB, 37 FO wins), Anthony Tangredi (6 CT), and James Spence (10.77 GAA, 34 saves).

NEXT UP
NJIT will continue its homestand next week with a Noon matchup against Siena on February 29.