NEWARK, N.J. - The NJIT men's lacrosse team (1-6, 0-1 AE) plays Vermont (3-4, 1-1 AE) in its America East home opener on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
NJIT NEWS & NOTES
NJIT enters the contest with a 1-6 record, most recently falling to Binghamton, 9-4, on March 22.
 
NJIT recorded 18 caused turnovers against Binghamton, setting a program record and marking the third-highest single-game total in the NCAA this season.
 
Joey Schwarz won the America East Goalkeeper of the Week after making a career-high 15 saves and posting a 62.5% save percentage against Binghamton. Schwarz made 10 or more saves in all three of his starts this season.
 
Emmerick Dopona set a career-high four ground balls and five caused turnovers against Binghamton, leading the team with eight CTOs this season. He ranks ninth in the America East with 1.14 caused turnovers per game and has picked up three or more ground balls in each of the last three games.
 
Sullivan O'Brien leads all non-NJIT faceoff players with 17 ground balls, including 14 in his last three games.
 
Isaac Vanzomeren was named the America East Faceoff Specialist of the Week on March 3 after winning 15-of-25 faceoffs (a season high 60%) and recording nine ground balls against Drexel on Feb. 26. Vanzomeren ranks third in the America East and 12th in the nation with 6.71 ground balls per game.
 
JC Echezuria earned America East Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 10 after recording five points (3 goals, 2 assists) against St. John's. His five-point performance is the most points by a Highlander in a collegiate debut in program history. He leads the team with 15 points this season (9 goals, 6 assists), scoring two goals in each of his last two games.
 
Russell Maher recorded his first hat trick as a Highlander against Wagner on March 8. He ranks second on the team with nine points (6 goals, 3 assists). Maher was selected as an Impact Transfer to Watch by Inside Lacrosse.
 
Christopher Eiselein is third on the team with eight points (7 goals, 1 assist) this season. He leads the Highlanders with two man-up goals.
 
SCOUTING VERMONT
Vermont enters the contest with a 3-4 record, most recently securing a 16-12 victory over Bryant on March 22.
 
Henry Dodge ranks second in the nation with a 70.2% faceoff percentage and third in the nation with 9.29 ground balls per game. Luke Reiter (7 goals, 11 assists) and Matthew Drimmie (10 goals, 5 assists) are the leading scorers for Vermont this season. Jack Combs leads the Catamounts with 18 caused turnovers.
 
Vermont leads the all-time series, 6-0, including a 12-9 win in Burlington last season. Benjamin Roberts led the Highlanders with three points (2 goals, 1 assist) against the Catamounts last season.
 
NEXT UP
NJIT will conclude the homestand against Bryant on Saturday, April 5, at noon at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
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