SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Le Moyne's men's lacrosse team, ranked No. 5 in the most recent USILA Division II Poll, will meet No. 1 Dowling College in a 4 p.m. affair Wednesday at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex. The non-conference game is a rematch of the 2006 Division II NCAA Championship and it marks Le Moyne's first true home game of the 2007 campaign.
In front of a record crowd of 23,990 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the Dolphins defeated the Golden Lions, 12-5, to capture their second national championship in three seasons. Junior Mike McDonald (Latham, N.Y./Shaker), the Most Outstanding Player of last year's championship, netted four goals and added an assist in the victory. Le Moyne went wire-to-wire in 2006, finishing a perfect 18-0, while Dowling ended 12-2 for the season.
Junior college transfer Nick Gatto (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) leads a balanced offensive attack with 10 goals. McDonald is the team's leader in overall scoring with 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists). Linemate Brian Cost (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) is the third Dolphin to register double-digit points (9 goals, 6 assists) in 2007. In the face-off circle, midfielder Brian Griffin (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) has a .713 percentage (62-87) on the season. Senior Jared Corcoran (Concord, N.H./Concord), a preseason first team All-American in the Inside Lacrosse/Face-off Yearbook, yields under seven goals (6.51) per game between the pipes.
Despite dropping two Northeast-10 Conference games, Le Moyne (4-2, 1-2 NE-10) ranks first in the LaxPower College Computer Ratings. Dowling (4-1) enters Wednesday's contest atop the USILA Division II Poll, garnering nine of ten first-place votes. The team's lone loss came at the expense of Division I Rutgers.
Preview by Michael Bersani '10
