March 11, 2010

EASTON, Pa. - The No. 15/19 Lafayette men's lacrosse team's early season success gets a little more serious on Friday when the Leopards welcome No. 13/17 Navy to Rappolt Field at 7 p.m.

Even though Lafayette hasn't played since Saturday, it's been a busy week as the team is in the midst of midterm week on College Hill.

On the lacrosse side, the Leopards moved up five spots to No. 15 in the USILA Coaches poll and slid into No. 19 in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse poll, the first time the school has been recognized in the national media rankings. In addition, junior Tom Perini was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after his 10-goal, two-assist performance against Penn and Wagner.

Lafayette is 4-0 for the first time in school history. The Leopards are currently first in the nation in assists per game, averaging over 10 per contest. Junior Stefan Bauer is ranked third in the nation with over three assists each game. On attack, the Leopards are paced by Perini's 16 goals and nine from senior co-captain Matt Mersky. Both are closing in on 100 career points. Perini currently stands at 90 total points, while Mersky stands just six points shy of 100.

Navy comes to College Hill in the driver's seat of the Patriot League standings after early season wins over Lehigh and Bucknell. The Mids defeated Lehigh 8-3 on March 2 and captured a dramatic 8-7 overtime win over the Bison Saturday afternoon.

At attack, Navy is led by Patrick Moran (9 G, 4 A) and Andy Warner (8 G, 5 A). On defense, the Mids turn to their trademark defense led by current Patriot League Defenseman of the Week Jaren Woeppel and two-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week RJ Wickham. Wickham enters Friday's contest with an impressive 6.68 goals against average.

Fans unable to attend Friday night's game are encouraged to follow on Facebook by searching Lafayette Leopard.