March 13, 2012

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team is still seeking its first win of 2012. The Bears have hopes set on Tuesday's match-up against Manhattan at 3 p.m. Dating back to its inaugural season in 2011, Mercer has lost 10 in a row.

 

The Bears are coming off a 16-5 defeat at the hands of Jacksonville on Saturday in the finale of a three-match series in Jacksonville, Fla. Mercer dropped games versus Michigan and Holy Cross earlier in the week.

Zack Ward continues his impressive sophomore season with a team-high 10 goals and seven assists on the year. He has recorded at least one goal in each of the seven games this season.

 

LAST TIME OUT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team dropped its seventh-straight, losing 16-5 to the host-team Dolphins (3-3) in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Bears (0-7) found themselves in an early hole as they were held scoreless in the first period of play. Down 3-0 after one and 8-2 after two, the Bears could not overcome the large deficit.

Mercer took a game-low four shots in the first period. Meanwhile, the Dolphins were 5-for-6 on shot attempts in the fourth period to extend their lead.  

SCOUTING THE JASPERS

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in Division I lacrosse.

 

Manhattan (1-4) has already faced some stellar competition of No. 11 Princeton and No. 2 Johns Hopkins. The Jaspers' sole win came at home against Providence on March 3.

 

The Jaspers are coming off a tough 9-6 loss on the road against Sacred Heart. Manhattan jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but could not overcome five third quarter goals.

 

Junior Brian McGrath leads the team with six goals while freshman Matt Thistle leads the way with 11 total points. Thistle has five goals and is tied for a team-lead six assists.

 

Goalkeepers Michael Wiatrak and Rich Akapnitis have split duties in the net as they have tallied 72 total saves (.567 average). Opponents have outshot the Jaspers 127-71 in five games.