An odd pairing of games will conclude the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team's home schedule this weekend when the Golden Knights will have the shortest ot turn-around times, playing a 7:00 pm game against Plattsburgh State on Friday and then celebrating Senior Day at 12:00 noon on Saturday against Bard College.
The Golden Knights, 5-6 overall and 0-5 in the Liberty League, are in a bit of a funk as of late, and with nine seniors on the roster the team would like to do nothing more than send them off on a positive note. Plattsburgh State has played well this year and is in the thick of things in the SUNYAC with a record of 9-5 overall, while Bard College, playing as an independent this season instead of in the Liberty League, is 5-6 overall.
The Cardinals are led offensively by Brendan Damm, who ranks in the top 30 nationally in goals per game with 41 scores and 51 total points in 14 games. The sophomore also has 28 groundballs to his credit. Helping the dynamic Damm out on offense is Robbie Ashlaw and Tom Duggan. Ashlaw is second on the team in scoring with 40 points and has 22 goals to go along with a team-high 18 assists. Duggan has chipped in 28 points with 16 goals and 12 assists, and James Read has contributed 25 points with 16 goals and nine helpers. Defensively, Charlie Dullea has been a force with 52 groundballs and 25 caused turnovers, while Matt Renko ranks third on the team in groundballs with 34 while also contributing 11 points. Joe Eiseman is in the top 50 in the country in faceoff percentage, winning 61% of his draws (125-for-205) while leading the team in groundball pickups with 59. In net for Plattsburgh, Andrew Hauk has an 8.16 goals against average with a 55.4 save percentage.
Last season the Knights suffered a 8-7 overtime loss against the Cardinals and have lost three of four against Plattsburgh, but Clarkson still holds a 7-5 edge in the all-time series. Bard and Clarkson will be meeting for the first time on Saturday and the Knights should have some extra push since it will be Senior Day for nine members of the squad. The Raptors, though 5-6 overall, have struggled against teams in the Liberty League, having been outscored 33-3 in two games against soon-to-be conference foes Vassar and Skidmore. Three members of the Raptors outscore the rest of the team by a wide margin, but the trio is quite close in output. DJ Peters leads the team with 35 points on 22 goals and 13 assists, while Mat Livermore and Henry Blosfelds nearly mirror one another with 23 goals and seven assists and 23 goals and six assists, respectively. Defensively, Harrison Mauldin has 45 groundballs with 23 caused turnovers and Sam Funnell has 54 groundballs with 20 caused turnovers. In goal, John Henry Glascock has kept Bard in several games with a 64.6 save percentage and a 9.46 goals against average along with a team-best 59 groundballs.
For Clarkson, Dylan Broomfield (Clinton, NY) has been a key team member in winning 58.9% of his faceoffs with a team-best 57 groundballs in just nine games. Offensively, the Knights have a diverse offense as junior Mark Nortz (Lowville, NY) leads the team with 26 points on 15 goals and 11 assists and freshman Ryan St. Croix (Camillus, NY) has tossed in a team-best 17 goals as well as six assists. Junior Matt Gold (Pittsford, NY) also has scored 15 points on 12 goals and three assists. On the defensive end, three seniors rank in the top five for groundballs as Rick Clement (Cotuit, MA) has amassed 32 groundballs and Brian Freeland (East Berlin, CT) has produced 25, three better than the 22 grabbed by Dylan Caldiero (Buffalo, NY). Clement has also caused a team-best 14 turnovers.
