MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
 
The Vermont Men's Lacrosse team – winner of three straight – head back out on the road this weekend to take on UMass Lowell in the Mill City.
 
Opening faceoff between the Cats and River Hawks is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night.
 
RELATED LINKS
AmericaEast.TV | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Vermont held UMBC scoreless for the first three quarters of action and cruised to a 12-3 win over the Retrievers Saturday at Virtue Field. David Closterman scored twice and dished out three assists for his second straight game with five points. Brock Haley and Thomas McConvey each tallied hat tricks while Liam Limoges score a goal and handed out two assists in his first action in nearly a month. Ryan Cornell backboned another stingy performance from the UVM defense making 12 saves on 13 shots. Will Jones, Nick Alviti and Jackson Canfield combined to force seven UMBC turnovers in the win.
 
CORNELL PICKS UP WEEKLY HONORS
Ryan Cornell's big weekend netted him a pair of weekly honors – he was named America East Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season and he was named to the USILA Team of the Week. His 9.23 save percentage against UMBC was a career-best and he added six ground balls and his second assist of the season.
 
CATS IN THE RANKINGS
UVM finds itself in the thick of the national rankings in a number of categories. The Cats rank third in the country in man-down defense killing penalties at a .806 clip and they rank sixth in caused turnovers per game (10.27). Vermont's scoring defense ranks third nationally giving up 8.91 goals per game. Individually, Nick Alviti is 14^th in the country in caused turnovers per game. Ryan Cornell ranks second in goals against average and 11^th in save percentage while Tommy Burke sits seventh in faceoff winning percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
UMass Lowell enters the weekend with a 1-8 overall record and 1-2 mark in league play after a narrow defeat at the hands of UAlbany last weekend. A scrappy team, UML ranks second in the conference in ground balls per game and Conor Foley is tops in the league averaging 2.67 goals per game. Anthony Macino has started the last seven games in cage for the River Hawks and enters the weekend with a 14.71 goals against average. Liam McDonough has won faceoffs at a .531 clip this season and leads the team with 61 ground balls.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be just the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams in a series that began in 2015. Vermont holds a 6-1 edge in the prior seven matchups. Last season, UVM outscored UMass Lowell 37-12 over two games including a 16-5 win in Lowell last April. Vermont is 3-1 all-time against the River Hawks in Lowell.