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

Off to a 3-0 start for the first time in five seasons and having just notched head coach Bill Bergan's 200th career victory, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse looks to continue on its roll when they play Nazareth College Friday night at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY.

It hasn't been easy getting Bergan to 200 wins, as he and the rest of the team have had to sweat it out in a pair of one-goal victories over the last week. Although Nazareth is winless in two games in 2017, the Golden Flyers are 7-0 all-time against Clarkson.

Clarkson's biggest contributions have come from the freshmen and the seniors so far. Goalkeeper Nick Strandholm is stopping 60.0% of the shots on goal and has posted a 7.20 goals against average, while classmate Marc Simmons is second on the team with 10 groundballs. Seniors Ryan Darin (8-2-10), Kyle Brown (7-3-10) and Ryan St. Croix (5-3-8) also rank in the top four on the team in points. However, youth has been served for the Knights in 2017, too, with freshman Conor Bartlett pacing the team with 11 points on six goals and five assists. More importantly, the Knights have been strong on faceoffs through the first three games, winning 72.7% of the draws. Freshman Ryan Gabriel is actually below the team's rate at 69.4% (34-for-49), but he has taken close to three-fourths of the tries at the 'x.' Classmate Kevin Munn has also done well, winning 10 of his 13 tries on faceoffs.

Nazareth junior Seth Delisle will likely be a solid test for Clarkson on faceoffs as he has won 34 of his 46 tries in two games, coming away with an impressive 22 groundballs. That winning percentage hasn't helped the Golden Flyers as much as it could, though, as Nazareth has mustered 8.5 goals per game, a solid but unspectacular number in the early going. Jacob Gray leads the team with seven points on six goals and an assist while Hunter Burdick, who had four points in last year's game against Clarkson, is second on the team with six points thanks to four goals and two assists. Nazareth is playing with two mostly untested goalkeepers. Junior Rick Kronenwett has a 10.00 goals against average and a 60.0 save percentage, but he played less than 40 minutes in the Golden Flyers' crease last year. Splitting time with Kronenwett is freshman Alex Winkler, who has posted a 16.00 goals against average and a 40.7 save percentage.

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Players Mentioned

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

#16 Marc Simmons: M; 6' 2"; Senior

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

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

#2 Conor Bartlett: M; 5' 7"; Freshman

#21 Ryan Gabriel: M; 5' 9"; Freshman

#43 Kevin Munn: M; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#16 Marc Simmons
: 6' 2"; Senior
: M

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

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

#2 Conor Bartlett
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: M

#21 Ryan Gabriel
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: M

#43 Kevin Munn
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: M