LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY MEN’S LACROSSE GAME 1 GAME INFO Series History LIU (0-0, 0-0 NEC) VS. SIENA (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) Overall 6-1 Saturday, February 8 • 1:00 p.m. • Loudonville, N.Y. • Hickey Field Last Meeting Win, 21-3 (Apr. 11, 1987) SHARKS SAINTS Head Coach: Eric Wolf Head Coach: Liam Gleason Record at LIU: 21-10 Record at Siena: 6-7 MEDIA COVERAGE Career Record: 21-10 Career Record: 6-7 Last Game: Lost vs. Mercy Last Game: Lost at Monmouth Live Video Siena All-Access Live Stats SienaSaints.com OPENING FACE-OFF 2020 SCHEDULE FOLLOW THE SHARKS • Saturday marks the start of the first season FEBRUARY Social Media Men’s Lacrosse Twitter @LIUMLAX of Division I competition for LIU since 1992. 8 AT SIENNA 1:00 P.M. Men’s Lacrosse Instagram @liumlacrosse • Saturday’s contest is the eighth all-time 15 WAGNER 1:00 P.M. LIU Athletics Twitter @LIUAthletics 22 ST. JOHN’S 1:00 P.M. LIU Athletics Instagram @LIUAthletics meeting between LIU and Siena, though LIU Website LIUAthletics.com 29 AT HOFSTRA 1:00 P.M. the first since the 1987 season. The Blue MARCH and Gold lead the all-time series 6-1, having 3 AT FAIRFIELD 7:00 P.M. LIU AT A GLANCE outscored the Saints by a 107-38 margin. 7 QUINNIPIAC 2:00 P.M. Primary Media Contact Casey Schermick • LIU head coach Eric Wolf and Siena 10 AT UMASS 2:00 P.M. Office Phone (516) 299-3957 14 NJIT * 12:00 P.M. Cell Phone (516) 532-0852 head coach Liam Gleason were two-year E-Mail [email protected] 21 SACRED HEART * 1:00 P.M. teammates at the University of Albany, 28 ROBERT MORRIS * 1:00 P.M. having both graduated in 2007. During APRIL Team History First Season 1960 their two seasons the duo combined for 4 AT HOBART * 1:00 P.M. All-Time Record 485-312-2 10 goals, 16 assists, and 28 ground balls. 11 AT MERRIMACK * 1:00 P.M. 10-Plus Win Seasons 19 18 MOUNT * 12:00 P.M. • LIU closed the 2019 season by reaching 25 ST. JOSEPH’S * 1:00 P.M. the ECC Championship game for University Information 28 NEC PLAY-IN TBD Location Brookville, N.Y. the second-consecutive season and 30 NEC SEMIS TBD Founded 1926 Enrollment 18,621 finished with an overall mark of 11-5. MAY Colors Blue and Gold • Siena posted a 6-7 mark last season and 2 NEC CHAMPIONSHIP TBD President Dr. Kimberly Cline Director of Athletics Dr. William E. Martinov, Jr. finished sixth in the MAAC standings. *INDICATES NEC CONTEST • The Sharks are out to prove their ALL HOME GAMES COMPETED AT BETHPAGE prowess in the NEC this season FEDERAL CREDIT UNION STADIUM Head Coach Eric Wolf Alma Mater Albany, 2007 after being selected fifth in the west ALL TIMES LISTED IN EST AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE Career Record 21-10 (.677), 3rd Season division in the preseason coaches poll Record at LIU Same NEC Record 0-0 (.000) GAME 1: LIU vs. SIENA GENERAL NOTES SNELDERS SCORCHING SUCCESS Junior Will Snelders has been a force offensively since stepping foot on vs campus in 2017. Through his first two seasons, the Port Jefferson Station native has tallied 149 points behind 116 goals and 33 assists. As a freshman he set a new LIU program record with 61 goals and was the NCAA Division II TALE OF THE TAPE statistical champion for goals per game (4.07). Against Roberts Wesleyan, he tallied 10 goals, a mark which stants as the third-highest single-game 11-5 OVERALL RECORD 6-7 total in Division II history. 5-1 CONFERENCE RECORD 3-4 15.6 GOALS PER GAME 12.9 8.8 GOALS ALLOWED PER GAME 13.9 47. 5 SHOTS PER GAME 45.5 Snelders has recorded a point in all 32 career games, a mark that stands 41.9 GROUND BALLS PER GAME 33.5 as the 11th-longest mark among Division I players. During his sophomore 11.3 SAVES PER GAME 9.3 .788 FACE-OFF PERCENTAGE .438 campaign, Snelders tallied at least three points in every contest and ranked .847 CLEAR PERCENTAGE .866 .344 MAN-UP CONVERSION .417 15th in the nation with 4.69 points per game. .227 MAN-DOWN DEFENSE .444 OFFNSIVE FIREPOWER TEAM LEADERS The Sharks return over 90-percent of their scoring from 2019 to this GOALS season’s squad. Seven point scorers left the program after 2019, with the LIU SIENA Will Snelders........55 Keenan Cook .........33 biggest loss coming in the form of Connor Farrell who tallied 14 points as Jake Gillis ............. 47 Mike Reilly ..............29 a senior. The Sharks’ top eight goal scorers return to the lineup (Snelders, Mike Kadnar ......... 22 Jack Kiernan .........29 Gillis, Kadnar, Russell, Liantonio, Grassa, Foley, Villari) in 2020. That group ASSISTS LIU SIENA combined for 204 goals and 301 total points last season, giving LIU one of Will Snelders........20 Keenan Cook .........20 the deepest attacks in the NEC this season. Jake Gillis ..............19 Mike Reilly ...............17 Russell / Liantonio ..... 17 Eric Munn ................12 The Blue and Gold are one of 16 Division I programs in the country and POINTS LIU SIENA one of four NEC programs to return over 80-percent of its goal scorers Will Snelders........ 75 Keenan Cook .........53 Jake Gillis .............66 Mike Reilly ..............46 and assists from last season, ranking fifth in the country at 90-percent Alex Russell .........38 Jack Kiernan .........36 goal scoring return. Also joining LIU from the NEC is St. Joseph’s University GROUND BALLS (98.8%), Merrimack College (85.5%), and Bryant University (85.0%). LIU SIENA Connor Farrell .. 268 Jason Zou ...............68 P.J. Usak ................34 Mike Reilly ..............33 LIU also ranks ninth in returning assists at 85.9-percent. Along with LIU, Ryan Blume ..........30 Aaron Lewis ............31 Merrimack (94.1%), Bryant (93.9%), and St. Joseph’s (87.1%) also fit into the CAUSED TURNOVERS LIU SIENA criteria. Ryan Blume ........... 15 Jack Drillock ..........30 P.J. Usak ................. 15 Braedon LaBar ........ 9 John Harding ........ 15 Tommy Pulzello ...... 9 SAVES LIU SIENA Bryan Ochs ......... 158 Aaron Lewis .......... 116 John Whitenack .. 15 Anthony Tebbano ....5 *2019 Statistics 2 | 2020 LIU MEN’S LACROSSE LIUATHLETICS.COM GAME 1: LIU vs. SIENA LIU IN THE PROS newest members this fall. NJIT also became a full-time associate member for men’s lacrosse, giving the NEC 10 members 2019 graduate Connor Farrell was drafted to three professional and splitting the conference into an east and west division. teams following his senior campaign, including the Chrome Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, New York LIU has plenty of history against NEC opponents throughout Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, and the New York Riptide of its history, playing 31 contests against member schools the National Lacrosse League. (Merrimack - 11, Hobart - 9, Bryant - 7, Sacred Heart - 4). Farrell, now better known as “The Milkman” by PLL fans, quickly Quick Notes: LIU is now referred to as Long Island University on made a splash in the league’s inaugural season. A fan favorite first reference, and LIU on any subsequent references. The school acrosse the country, Farrell ranked second in the league with should never be referred to as “LIU Brooklyn” or “LIU Post”. The 54.5-percent face-off percentage and ranked third with 70 new mascot is the Sharks and the official colors are blue and gold. ground balls during the regular season. NEC PRESEASON POLL As a senior, Farrell set multiple NCAA DIvision II records, including single-season face-off percentage (.814), single-season ground EAST DIVISION WEST DIVISION balls per game (16.75), and single-game ground balls (30 vs. 1. Hobart (10) 1. Robert Morris (6) 2. Bryant 2. Saint Joseph’s (3) Merrimack). The USILA named him the National Faceoff Player 3. Sacred Heart 3. Mount St. Mary’s (1) of the Year for his efforts in 2019. T4. Merrimack 4. NJIT T4. Wagner 5. LIU RETURN TO DIVISION I With the additions of LIU and Merrimack, along with associate In October 2018, LIU administration announced that it member NJIT, men’s lacrosse membership in the NEC has was unifying its Brooklyn and Post campuses, an initiative reached 10 programs, necessitating a split into East and West branded as “One LIU”. With Brooklyn already competing divisions. The East is comprised of Bryant, Hobart, Merrimack, at the Division I level, LIU became immediately eligible for Sacred Heart and Wagner, with LIU, Mount St. Mary’s, NJIT, postseason competition, and became the eighth member of Robert Morris and Saint Joseph’s making up the West. the Northeast Conference for football. This May, LIU students and alumni voted that the new mascot for the unified athletic Two-time defending NEC champion Robert Morris received six first program would be the Sharks, making LIU the second Division place votes and was chosen to win the West by the league’s head I program in the country to be don the aquatic mascot. coaches. Hobart was a unanimous choice to claim the East crown. The 2020 campaign will be the inaugural season of competition At year’s end, five teams will qualify for the 2020 NEC in the Northeast Conference, though not the first season of Tournament, beginning with a play-in game as the #4 seed Division I competition. The LIU men’s lacrosse team competed at hosts the #5 seed on Tuesday, April 28. The winner moves to Division I from 1982 to 1992 while the NCAA brought a hiatus to the main bracket, hosted by the top overall seed.