CU Men's Lacrosse Preview - vs. #10 Nazareth (3/12)

After three games enduring cooler weather in New York, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team is headed to Florida for three games in a more hospitable climate. However, that's where the hospitality ends as the Golden Knights will be faced with a stiff challenge on Saturday when they take on 10th-ranked Nazareth in Tampa, FL.

The Golden Knights have come away with one win three games so far, while Nazareth is flawless at 3-0. Clarkson has never beaten the Golden Flyers in six meetings, including three defeats in recent years (2012, 2013, 2015). If the Knights can come away with anything positive from those three narrow losses, it's that they held Nazareth under its scoring average each time, including a 2.75 goal deficit last season.

Clarkson will need another strong defensive effort if it hopes to take down the Flyers on Saturday. Nazareth is averaging better than 14 goals per game so far, led by Troy Haefele (13) and Luke Wooters (11), who each have produced 21 points so far. Haefele also has 11 groundballs and four caused turnovers on his stat line. Joe Eiskant (4-4, 8 points), Paul Walter (6-1, 7 points) and Matt O'Neill (4-3, 7 points) have also made their presence felt on offense. The offense begins with faceoff specialist Seth DeLisle, who has come away with 47 wins in 76 tries at the 'X' which is good enough for a .618 winning percentage. On defense, Luke Longo has 15 groundballs, two behind DeLisle, and is tied for the team lead with four caused turnovers. Scott Brown has a 8.37 goals against average and a .537 save percentage in the Naz crease.

Junior Nick Strandholm will be the last line of defense for the Golden Knights against Nazareth, and he will be up to task with a .565 save percentage and a 9.15 goals against average through three games. Keith Mierzwa is tied for the team lead with nine groundballs, along with Marc Simmons and Nicholas Lenta, and also leads the Liberty League with nine caused turnovers. On offense, junior Ryan St. Croix leads the team with seven goals and is tied for the team lead for nine points. Joining St. Croix at the top of the Clarkson leaderboard is Ryan DaRin with nine points on five goals and four assists. Kyle Brown has ripped six goals and Sam Groves has contributed four assists and seven groundballs.

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Players Mentioned

#37 Kyle Brown: M; 6' 1"; Junior

#17 Ryan DaRin: A; 5' 10"; Junior

#9 Sam Groves: A; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#13 Nicholas Lenta: M; 5' 5"; Junior

#10 Keith Mierzwa: D; 5' 10"; Senior

#16 Marc Simmons: M; 6' 1"; Junior

#7 Ryan St. Croix: M; 6' 3"; Junior

#4 Nick Strandholm: GK; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#37 Kyle Brown
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M

#17 Ryan DaRin
: 5' 10"; Junior
: A

#9 Sam Groves
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: A

#13 Nicholas Lenta
: 5' 5"; Junior
: M

#10 Keith Mierzwa
: 5' 10"; Senior
: D

#16 Marc Simmons
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M

#7 Ryan St. Croix
: 6' 3"; Junior
: M

#4 Nick Strandholm
: 6' 0"; Junior
: GK