NEWTON, Mass. – The storied rivalry of Mount Ida College and Norwich University men's lacrosse will see another chapter written on Thursday afternoon when the two teams meet for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinal at 3:30 PM at Alumni Field.
The teams have met in the postseason for the last three years, with Norwich ending the Mustang's season the last two campaigns, and Mount Ida defeating Norwich in the GNAC title game in 2012, when they won their last conference championship.
Mount Ida (10-4, 7-1 GNAC) is the tournament's #2 seed, while Norwich (7-7, 4-4 GNAC) came into the tournament as the sixth and last team in.
Historic Notes
Mount Ida holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, but the Mustang's thrilling 5-4 triple overtime victory earlier this year was the first time in five tries that Mount Ida has beaten Norwich, who won the GNAC title in 2013 by beating Mount Ida 9-7 in Northfield. The Mustangs won the first four meetings between the two teams, including the only non-conference, regular season affair in 2006, another triple overtime game in 2012, and then again at home in the 2012 GNAC title game.
How they Got Here
Mount Ida earned their right to the #2 seed in the conference and a home game in the semifinals by posting a 7-1 conference record and come into the postseason on a nine-game winning streak. In addition to their overtime game against Norwich, Mount Ida came from behind to win GNAC games against Lasell and Johnson & Wales, the last of which giving them the #2 seed and the first round bye.
Instead, Johnson & Wales had to play in Tuesday's quarterfinals, and the Cadets went to Providence and took them out in dramatic fashion with a 7-6 victory in which Seth Fuller (Wheaton, Ill.) scored an unassisted tally with just two seconds remaining to break a tie game that looked like it was headed to overtime.
The Cadets were inconsistent throughout the regular season, ripping off five straight wins before suffering a six game losing streak. They closed off the year by beating Saint Joseph's (ME) to give them momentum, heading into their quarterfinal game against the Wildcats.
Who to Watch
Mount Ida College is led offensively by junior Lucas Stralka (E. Greenwich, R.I.) and sophomore Wyatt Sullivan (Arlington ,Mass.) with 36 points each on the year. Stralka has accumulated 22 goals and 14 assists, while Sullivan contributed 25 goals and 11 assists for the Mustangs. Freshman face-off specialist Alex Zito (Marlboro, Conn.) has won 60.3 percent of the face-offs with 62 ground balls this season and will look to make an impact at the midfield line. On defense, the Mustangs are ranked fifth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 8.11 goals per game with 15 caused turnovers on the year. Goalies Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.) and Tyler McElreath (Upton, Mass.) have shared duties in between the pipes this year, totaling 162 saves for a 58.5 save percentage and an 8.11 goals-against-average in the 14 games played.
Norwich is led offensively by the senior Fuller, with 34 points on 27 goals and seven assists. Junior midfielder Matt Flaherty (Portland, Maine) is second in points with 17 on eight goals and nine assists, while senior face-off specialist Andrew Bracy (Carthage, N.Y.) leads the nation with a face-off winning percentage of 74 percent and will look to play an important role once again after winning 13 of the 15 attempts against JWU in the quarterfinal game.
On the defensive end, the Cadets, who are ranked 15th in the nation and second in the league in scoring defense (6.38 goals per game), will look to its defensive squad that has accumulated a combined 128 caused turnovers on the year with a 77.5 clearing percentage. Senior goalkeeper Ryan Fecteau (Danvers, Mass.) will look to start in between the pipes, leading the GNAC and ranked 16th in the nation with a 6.43 goals-against-average on 107 total saves, ranking him fifth in the GNAC and 28th in the nation with a .605 save percentage.
How to Watch
Thursday's game will be streamed live on EZStream and will also have live stats available for fans to follow at the link below.
Live Stats: http://mountidamustangs.com/sports/mlax/2014-15/boxscores/20150423_6hhu.xmlLive
Video: http://mountidamustangs.com/links/s4x25y
2015 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament Schedule
First Round - Tuesday, April 21
Game 1: #4 Lasell 21, #5 Rivier 8
Game 2: #6 Norwich 7, #3 Johnson & Wales 6
Semifinals - Thursday, April 23
Game 3: #4 Lasell at #1 Emmanuel - 7:00 p.m.
Game 4: #6 Norwich at #2 Mount Ida - 3:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, April 25
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner