ASTON, Pa. – After a convincing first round playoff win this past Saturday, the Neumann University men's lacrosse team continues its quest for a 2022 Atlantic East Conference title on Wednesday evening with a trip to Marymount University in the semifinal round.
Neumann enters the matchup with an 11-7 overall record and a 3-3 conference mark to finish as the four-seed in the playoffs. Marymount enters the playoffs as the two-seed with an 8-8 overall record and a 4-2 conference record.
The team advanced to the semifinals with a rout of Immaculata University this past Saturday by a score of -21-6.
Drew Conlon was the star of the day for Neumann, scoring three goals to break the program record for points in a career.
Mike Kiley and
Emmett Wexler each recorded four goals and an assist, while
Brett McLaughlin (2 g, 1 a),
Sam Nice (2 g, 1 a),
Kyle Daly (1 g, 2 a),
Max Nice (2 g) and
Rich Marshall (1 g, 1 a) all registered multi-point games. Goalie
Jake Marchiafava earned his 11th win of the season in between the pipes with five saves.
The Knights will look to flip the script on their earlier meeting this season against the Saints, when Neumann fell on its home field by a count of 15-9 on April 9
th. Marshall was the offensive catalyst for the Knights on the afternoon with four goals, while Conlon (2 g, 1 a) and Daly (1 g, 2 a) added three-point days. Marchiafava was strong in goal in the loss with nine saves. The contest was tied 6-6 at halftime, but a dominant third quarter from Marymount in which they outscored Neumann 7-2 gave the visitors a five-goal lead that they would not relinquish.
Neumann has been led all season long by a balanced group of attackers. Conlon leads the team with 83 points, scoring 47 goals and adding 36 assists. His 220 career points now lead the program all-time. Marshall is second on the team in both goals (36) and points (55), while
Kiley is third in goals (26) and second in assists (23). Six more Knights have tallied double-digit goals this season, including
Wexler (24),
Wyatt Belotti (18),
Max Nice (19),
Daly (15),
Sam Nice (15) and
McLaughlin (14).
McLauglin has been a force at both ends of the field for Neumann, ranking fourth on the team in points with 33, while also leading the team in ground balls (80) and caused turnovers (49).
John Giovinazzo and Cannon Coyle have also been defensive stalwarts for the Knights, while
Marchiafava has been excellent in his first year as the starter in goal. The sophomore net-minder has won 11 games, stopping 171 shots with a .515 save percentage and a 10.36 goals against average.
If the Knights take down Marymount on Wednesday night, the team will advance to the Atlantic East Conference Championship this Saturday, May 7th. The winner of the Neumann/Marymount game will take on the winner of the other semifinal matchup between Cabrini and Gwynedd Mercy.
