MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State men's lacrosse team earned the overall top seed in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship tournament after finishing the regular conference season with an undefeated 7-0 record.
As such, they will serve as the host for the semifinal match-up against fourth seeded Cazenovia on Wednesday, May 1.
Face-off for the contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Drake Field in Morrisville. Fans will be able to follow the action live through live stats and video, with links posted on the college's athletic web site at www.morrisvillestateathletics.com.
For those attending the event, parking will be available in the lot behind the stadium facility. Tickets for the contest are available at the gate 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off.
Admission is $4 per adult, $2 per student and children 12 and under are admitted free. Visitors are asked to abide by the college's tailgating policy, located under visitor information on the athletic web site.
Morrisville State will host Cazenovia for a second time this season, meeting for the first time of the year back on April 10 where the Mustangs posted a 19-9 victory over the Wildcats.
In that contest, the Mustangs opened with an early 6-0 lead after the opening quarter and didn't look back, outgaining the Wildcats in each quarter of play to capture the win.
Seven different Morrisville State players contributed goals in the win, including Nick Geswaldo (Lafayette, N.Y.) and Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) who combined for 11 of the Mustangs total 19 on the night.
Niko Cejic (Johnson City, N.Y.) was the winning keeper, making seven stops, as Morrisville State dominated nearly all facets of the game.
The high powered offense enters the contest with a league leading 18.57 goals per game average against conference opponents, also ranking in the top two in the NEAC in defense with their 7.57 goals against average.
The four-time defending champions enter the semifinal round on a seven game win streak, and will look to capture their fifth straight tournament title to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
They will first have to get past the Cazenovia squad that went 4-3 in conference play, that included a two goal loss to second seeded Keuka College on the 17th.
The Wildcats enter the contest with a second league best 15.86 goals per game, and league leading faceoff win percentage (67.2%).
Joe Timm leads Cazenovia with 51 points behind his 40 goals and 11 assists on the season, three of which were posted against the Mustangs on the 10th.
Jared Hurlbutt will backstop the Wildcats in net, posting a league best save percentage (64.2) and fewest goals against (34).
Second seeded Keuka will face-off against third seeded SUNY Poly also on Wednesday, with the opening whistle taking place at 5 p.m. on the Keuka campus.
The winners of the semi's will advance to the NEAC Championship final that will take place Saturday at the highest remaining seed after Wednesday's round.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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