Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse Weekly Release (4/22) 4/22/2019 PDF Release NEC Player of the Week: Chris Aslanian, HOB NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Joseph Cipoletti, SHU NEC Rookie of the Week: Zach Cole, SJU Previous NEC Releases: April 15 | April 8 | April 1 | March 25 | March 18 | March 11 | March 4 | February 25 | February 18 | February 11 | Preseason Poll Release NEC MEN’S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Chris Aslanian, Hobart Sr., A, Westfield, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton On his Senior Day, Aslanian matched a season high with five goals and added an assist to help Hobart hand Mount St. Mary’s its first conference loss of the season, 11-8. After Mount struck first in the opening minute of the first quarter, Aslanian recorded two straight goals to give Hobart a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the afternoon. He would go on to score three more times, add an assist on a Justin Scott third quarter tally, pick up three ground balls and cause a turnover. The outing marked Aslanian’s second five-goal game of the season, with the first coming back in Hobart’s season opener in February against Canisius. The Westfield, NJ native has recorded 52 points on the season, third most in the league and fourth most for a single season in Hobart’s Division I era. NEC MEN’S LACROSSE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Joseph Cipoletti, Sacred Heart Sr., LSM, Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West Cipoletti compiled one of the best defensive efforts in the nation all season with a new career-high seven caused turnovers and a career-high tying eight ground balls in Sacred Heart’s 17-9 non-conference victory over Binghamton. Cipoletti’s seven caused turnovers were the most by any NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse player in a single game this year. The senior has compiled 36 caused turnovers and 57 ground balls to lead his team. The 36 caused turnovers are one shy of a program record, and his 3.27 caused turnovers per game lead the NEC and rank second in the nation. Cipoletti’s three Defensive Player of the Week honors are the most in the NEC this season and the most for a NEC defender in a single season since 2016. NEC MEN’S LACROSSE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Zach Cole, Saint Joseph's Fr. FO, Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape Cole collected his third NEC Rookie of the Week honor after a 16-of-23 afternoon from the X, with 11 ground balls and an assist in Saint Joseph’s 14-6 victory over Wagner. It marked the sixth time this season Cole has won over 65% of his faceoffs in a game. The freshman also added a crucial assist in the first quarter. With the Hawks trailing 3-1, Cole’s feed to fellow freshman Zach Mantei ended a 3-0 Seahawks run that pulled Saint Joseph’s to within a goal and sparked a Hawks’ 6-0 spurt to finish up the first half. The Mount Laurel, NJ native owns a .632 faceoff percentage, the third best in the league and among the twelve best in the country. Cole’s three Rookie of the Week awards tie him with Bryant’s Luke Caracciolo and Hobart’s Jason Knox for the most in the league this season. AROUND THE NEC NEC MLAX Tiebreaker Chart One week remains in the NEC men’s lacrosse regular season and everything is still up for grabs in quite possibly the most unpredictable campaign in the history of NEC men’s lacrosse! Entering their concluding contest, five teams (Hobart, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, and Saint Joseph’s) remain in the running for the four spots available in this year’s Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. In a rather fitting way to illustrate exactly how unpredictable the league has been this season, the possibility still exists (with wins by Saint Joseph’s, Sacred Heart and Robert Morris) of a five-way tie for first place, where one of the five teams would be crowned co-regular season champion, but miss the postseason. The playoff picture did become a little bit clearer on Saturday when Hobart forced a tie atop the league standings and handed Mount St. Mary’s their first conference loss of the season. The Statesmen are now in the driver’s seat for their second NEC regular season title, needing only a victory on Saturday against Robert Morris to wrap up the #1 seed. Despite the setback, the Mount is still in prime position to make the NEC tournament for the first time since 2015. They would qualify for the post-season, win or lose this week, unless they finish in the five-way tie scenario where Sacred Heart finishes with the fewest goals allowed in games against the other four teams. Mount can clinch the #1 seed with a win and a Hobart loss, or by finishing in the five-way tie and winning the fewest goals allowed tiebreaker. Robert Morris has been the hottest team in the league down the stretch, winning their last five games, including a 20-16 shootout on Saturday at Bryant. The Colonials won at Bryant for the first time since 2011 and tied the program record for consecutive wins. Despite a 0-2 NEC start, the preseason favorite can still claim the #1 spot for their own with a win on Saturday over Hobart combined with losses by Mount and Sacred Heart. Saint Joseph's, which has hosted the tournament four times in the last five years, will need to win its regular season finale against Mount to have any shot to get back into the postseason in 2019. Meanwhile, unless there is a five-way tie, Sacred Heart can clinch a playoff spot for the third straight season with a win over Wagner or with losses by either Saint Joseph’s or Robert Morris. The NEC regular season will wrap up this Saturday, April 27th with three conference games on the ledger: Hobart at Robert Morris, Sacred Heart at Wagner, and Saint Joseph’s at Mount St. Mary’s. The four teams that qualify for the postseason will advance to the 2019 NEC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament, beginning Thursday, May 2nd at the home of the #1 seed. NEC PRIME PERFORMERS Mike Adler, SJU – SO – G *Made nine saves, while tying a season-low with just six goals allowed, in Saint Joseph’s 14-6 victory over Wagner. Chris Aslanian, HOB – SR – A *Matched a season high with five goals and added an assist to help Hobart hand the Mount St. Mary’s its first conference loss. Aslanian’s 52 points are third most in the league and fourth most for a single season in Hobart’s Division I era. Ryan Cerino, BRY – SR – A *After entering Saturday with just three career goals in four years, Cerino matched a Bryant Division I single-game record with six goals on Senior Day against Robert Morris. Joseph Cipoletti, SHU – SR – LSM *Set a new career-high with seven caused turnovers and a career-high tying eight ground balls in Sacred Heart’s 17-9 non-conference victory over Binghamton. Cipoletti’s seven caused turnovers were the most by any NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse player in a single game this season. Zach Cole, SJU – FR – FO *Went 16-of-23 in faceoffs, with 11 ground balls and an assist in Saint Joseph’s 14-6 victory over Wagner. It marked the sixth time this season Cole has won over 65% of his faceoffs in a game. Tyson Gibson, RMU – SR – M *Tallied six points, including a career-high tying five assists in Saturday’s victory over Bryant. On his final assist, Gibson tied Kyle Buchanan for the Robert Morris career assist record with 76. Joe Saggese, SHU – SR – A *Registered a new career-high with eight points, on three goals and five assists, against Binghamton. Saggese’s 197 career points moved him past Rave Root for the all-time program points record. Ryan Smith. RMU – JR – A *Co-led all players with six points, on three goals and three assists, in the Colonials’ 20-16 victory over Bryant. Smith collected his eighth hat trick of the season. Kyle Stofko, WC – SO – D *Forced a turnover and collected a ground ball leading to his first career goal on Saturday against the Hawks. Finished the afternoon a career-high five caused turnovers and three ground balls. Trevor Weingarten, BRY – JR – M *Reached career highs with three goals, four assists and five ground balls on Saturday against Robert Morris. The four assists were the most in a single game for a Bulldog this season.