The Siena Heights men's lacrosse team is set to open the 2018 NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational with a 7 p.m. contest against Cumberlands (Ky.), on Thursday. The eight-team tournament is set to be held at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The Saints ended the regular season with a 10-3 record. SHU went on to upset Indiana Tech in the WHAC Tournament Semifinal before falling to Madonna in the Championship, earning an 11-4 record as they enter the tournament. Cumberlands holds a 12-4 overall record, falling to No. 2 Reinhardt twice, to WHAC team Lourdes and finally to Siena Heights 10-7.
The two teams last met in the beginning of March, Shane Lewandowski and Danny Orr each netted four goals while Garnet Potter and Ryan Mamo scored solo shots. In goal, Tyler Hooper made 13 saves to earn the win while Will Settle suffered the loss with seven saves. Sam Collinson and Justin Darley both scored twice while three others netted solo shots for the Patriots.
Leading the Saints in goals is Orr with 30 goals and three assists while Ryan Mamo has earned 28 goals and 11 assists. Travis Byrd leads SHU in groundballs with 46 and has won 97 of 258 faceoffs. Tanner Cowell and Michael Birt III each hold 22 and 20 caused turnovers for Siena Heights.
For the Patriots, Caleb Elerick has 24 goals and 25 assists as Dylan Crouch holds 24 goals and 13 assists. Nick DiFranco leads UC with 109 groundballs and 38 caused turnovers as Jake Morgan follows close behind with 83 groundballs and 41 caused turnovers. Kody Swann has 75 groundballs while winning 189 of 292 faceoffs.
Goalie Hooper has a 9.25 goals against average with a .550 save percentage for the Saints with an 11-3 record. Settle holds a 6.96 goals against average while holding a .591 save percentage.
