No. 6 Tampa Primed for NCAA Quarterfinal

ERIE, Pa. –  The stage is set for the No. 6 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team to meet No. 4 Mercyhurst University on Saturday, May 14 at 1 p.m. in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinals.

The Spartans earned a bid for the third consecutive year, as they enter the contest with a 14-2 overall record.  Tampa fell to the Lakers on the road earlier in the season by an 11-5 final score. 

In postseason play, UT met Mercyhurst in similar quarterfinal action in 2014, taking the postseason contest by an 11-9 margin to earn the program's first-ever trip to the championship semifinals. Then-sophomore Matt Bilak scored five goals on the Lakers while Conor Whipple scored two with an assist in his freshman season of play.

Freshman Andrew Kew leads Tampa in scoring, as the attacker is seven goals shy of breaking the single-season goal record, as he has posted an astounding 56-goal campaign in his first collegiate year of play.  Junior Whipple earned Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year honors for leading the conference and team in points with 92 behind 45 goals and 47 assists.  The assist mark sets the new Spartan single-season mark, as Whipple held the previous season-high of 41 during his freshman campaign in 2014. The attacker is the career record holder in goals (129), assists (122) and points (251).

Leading Tampa on defense is the duo of Charlie Cummins and A.J. Ferraro, as the tandem has combined for 84 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers.  Defender Cummins leads the team in caused turnovers with 21 to his credit, adding 28 ground balls while committing just three turnovers in the Spartan backline.  Midfielder Ferraro is having a freshman campaign for the ages, scooping up 56 ground balls, causing nine opposing turnovers and scoring three goals as a long-stick midfielder.

Stalwart in the cage for UT is junior A.J. Arnold, as the goalkeeper is 10-1 on the season with a .594 save percentage with 123 total saves in the net.  Arnold has limited opponents to a 7.94 goals-against average in 16 games played.

Mercyhurst garners a postseason bid for the eighth time in program history and the first since falling to Tampa in 2014.  MU is 15-2 this season with its lone pair of losses coming to Mount Olive and Lindenwood.

The Lakers will look to a spread offense across four scorers, led by junior James Crowe.  Crowe leads Mercyhurst in both goals and points with 36 and 55, respectively.  Joining the attacker is fellow junior Derek Richards and his 40 points of offense behind 24 goals and 16 assists. 

Defensively, sophomore Greg Weyl has dominated with a team-best 33 caused turnovers and 44 ground balls for MU.  Netminder Matt Wells carries a 15-2 record with a .529 save percentage and a 6.36 goals-against average.

The postseason contest marks the fifth meeting between the two teams as the all-time series is knotted 2-2.  Live stats will be provided courtesy of Mercyhurst athletics and are available here free of charge.  The quarterfinal is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday, May 14 at Tullio Field.

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