March 14, 2005

Baltimore, Md. - The Loyola men's lacrosse team will have to quickly shake off a 6-5 loss at No. 4 Duke and turn its attention to the Seahawks of Wagner. The Greyhounds open up a three-game homestand beginning with the Seahawks this Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

The Greyhounds, who have played their last two games on the road, are off to a 0-3 start with three losses to ranked opponents. All three games were in question heading into the final minute of regulation and despite coming up short on the scoreboard, Loyola has had plenty to hang its hat on and will look to start a win streak with a non-conference mid-week game against Wagner.

The Seahawks are also 0-3 and have played all three of their games on the road. Wagner has scored 11 total goals this season and it won't get any easier against a Greyhound defense that is allowing under 10 goals per game. Goalie Michael Fretwell has a .547 save percentage and a 9.67 goals against average in his three starts.

Leading Loyola's offensive attack is senior Matt Monfett, whose five goals are a team high. Sophomore Andrew Spack has four goals and two assists to lead the team with six points while freshman Shane Koppens has scored in back-to-back games and is gaining confidence with each start he makes.

Against Duke on Saturday, Loyola rallied with three fourth-quarter goals, out-shooting the Blue Devils 14-1 in the final 15 minutes of play. The Greyhounds finished with a 37-31 shot advantage and picked up 36 groundballs compared to Duke's 26. Loyola also won all four fourth-quarter faceoffs and ended the period 4-for-4 in clear attempts.

The `Hounds look to build off of their fourth-quarter success in Durham with their first-ever meeting with Wagner. St. John's (March 19) and Massachusetts (March 26) round out the three-game homestand.

Loyola-Wagner Game Notes in PDF Format
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