Men's Lacrosse Travels To Providence Saturday

Bobcats Look To Even Record At Providence Saturday
The Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse team returns to action Saturday, when it travels to Providence, R.I., to take on Providence College. The Bobcats are coming off a 10-5 victory against Holy Cross in their home opener, while the Friars have registered wins against Wagner and Presbyterian in their first two games. Quinnipiac holds a 6-4 edge in the all-time series, and has won three of the last four meetings. The Bobcats took a 12-2 victory last March 13 in Hamden.

Scouting the Providence College Friars
Andrew Barton leads the Friars with three goals and four assists for a team-best seven points. JT Weber has also scored three goals, while Daniel Textor has two goals and two assists. Ryan Shaw has been nearly unbeatable at the face-off x, winning 77.4 percent (24-31) of his opportunities. His success has led to a team-high 21 ground balls. Christian Dzwilewski has seen the bulk of the time in net, compiling a 6.47 goals-against average and a .560 save percentage.

Oppenheimer Climbs Quinnipiac Career Goals List
Jack Oppenheimer's 60 career goals rank tied for 12th in Quinnipiac history.

Hagg of a Streak
Christian Haggerty has recorded at least one point in each of his 17 games in the blue and gold. The 17 games rank 20th among active streaks in the nation.

NEC Recognizes Benzing, Webster
The Northeast Conference recognized Kevin Benzing and Dylan Webster as its defensive player and rookie of the week, respectively. Benzing made 31 saves in two games last week, including 19 in the Bobcats' 10-5 victory against Holy Cross. Webster scored three goals and added an assist against Holy Cross.

Benzing Grabs Second In Saves
With 19 saves against Holy Cross March 5, Kevin Benzing passed Mike Sturmer '99 (428) for second all-time at QU. He now stands at 430, 198 behind the all-time leader at Quinnipiac, T.J. Barnett '04 (628).

Stepping Up On The Man-Down
QU is 21st in the nation in man-down defense (.737). The Bobcats held Holy Cross to just one man-up goal on 10 opportunities, covering eight minutes.

New To The NEC
With Bryant becoming eligible for postseason play in 2011, the Northeast Conference now has six men's lacrosse-playing institutions and has officially become a men's lacrosse league. QU joins Bryant, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner in comprising the six-team league.

20/20
Christian Haggerty became just the fourth player in Quinnipiac history to compile a 20-goal, 20-assist season with 20 goals and 25 assists last year. Haggerty joined Joe Baglio (49 G, 29 A in 2001) as the only other Quinnipiac player with a 20-20 season at Division I, while Brian Perry (33 G, 25 A in 1998) and P.J. Gillard (24 G, 21 A in 1995) achieved the feat at the Division II level.

Causing Havoc
The Bobcats finished the 2010 season ranked fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game, averaging 10.21.

Crazy Eight
Quinnipiac finished 2010 eighth in the nation in ground balls per game (35.57).

Glad To Have You
Christian Haggerty led the Bobcats in points (45), with 20 goals and 25 assists in 2010. His assist total tied for second on the QU single-season list, tied with Brian Perry in 1998. Haggerty was the first Bobcat to reach as many as 17 assists in a season since both Joe Baglio (29) and Jeff Speed (24) did so in 2001.

Oppenheimer Goals: The Right Way To Score
With 32 goals last season, Jack Oppenheimer led the Bobcats and moved into 10th all-time on the Quinnipiac single-season chart. Oppenheimer's 71 career goals rank 13th all-time at Quinnipiac.

Benz, But Don't Break
Senior goalie Kevin Benzing was his typical steady self in net for the Bobcats in 2010, maintaining an 8.69 goals-against average and a .552 save percentage while posting a 7-6 record.

15 Seniors Depart
The Bobcats must find a way to replace 15 graduated seniors from a year ago, many coming in the midfield. The top scorer to depart is Alex Marotto, who contributed 15 goals, while Todd Kaiser also chipped in with 12 goals. Garett Kerr also had 10 goals. Face-off specialist Ben Mullaney will certainly missed, while Alex DeAlmeida's 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) will also have to be replaced.

Up Next
The Bobcats return to action Saturday, March 19, when they play host to the University of Hartford. Opening face-off from the Quinnipiac
Field Hockey & Lacrosse Turf Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.