April 2, 2010 Quinnipiac University Bobcats (4-2) at
University of Hartford Hawks (2-6)
Saturday, April 3, 2010 - 1 p.m.
Yousuf Al-Marzook Athletic Field - West Hartford, Conn.

Bobcats Travel To Intrastate Foe Hartford Saturday
The Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse team returns to action Saturday, when it travels to intrastate foe Hartford. The Bobcats had their four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday against Ohio State, while the Hawks have fallen in two straight one-goal decisions despite leading in the fourth quarter of both contests.

Scouting the Hartford Hawks
The Hawks (2-6, 0-1 America East) are led by Aidan Genik, whose 22 goals and 26 points both lead Hartford. Jared Franze is second on the team in goals with 14, while Ryan Compitello is first in assists (13) and second in points (20). Tim Fallon leads the team in ground balls (70) and has won 62.3 percent (114-183) of his face-off opportunities. Goalie Scott Bement has seen the majority of time in net for the Hawks, compiling a .500 save percentage and 10.91 goals-against average.

Benz, But Don't Break
Senior goalie Kevin Benzing has been his typical steady self in net for the Bobcats this season, maintaining a 7.28 goals-against average and a .642 save percentage while posting a 4-2 record. His save percentage ranks fourth nationally, while his goals-against average is second in the NCAA. Benzing stood on his head at Hobart, making a career-high 21 saves on 28 opportunities.

A-Pall-ing Performance
Zach Pall has won 53-of-79 (.671) face-off opportunities this season, good for the best face-off winning percentage in the nation. He also leads NCAA Division I in ground balls per game at 9.2. He won 12-of-18 face-offs at Detroit-Mercy, and picked up a career-high 13 ground balls in the process. Pall also won all seven of his face-off opportunities against Wagner, went 10-of-16 against Providence and 12-of-19 at Hobart and against Ohio State.

...Kind of a Big Deal
The Bobcats rank in the top 10 in the nation in seven of 14 statistical categories kept by the NCAA. They rank first in face-off win percentage (.620), second in scoring defense (6.83), fourth in caused turnovers per game (11.17), fifth in scoring margin (+4.33), sixth in ground balls per game (36.33) man-down defense (.793), eighth in saves per game (12.33), and 10th in man-down defense (.735).

Simply the Best
For his 21-save effort at Hobart on March 20, Kevin Benzing was named the ECAC Lacrosse and Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The 21 saves were the most in the nation in a single game during that week, and a career high for the senior goalie.

Oppenheimer Goals: The Right Way To Score
With 14 goals and 18 points this season, Jack Oppenheimer leads the Bobcats. Oppenheimer led the Bobcats in both points (26) and goals (20) in 2009.

Marotto Makes His Mark
Alex Marotto scored three goals, all in the decisive second half, March 20 at Hobart. Marotto tied the game at 4-4, before later adding insurance goals to push the Bobcats' lead to 7-4 and 9-7.

New Addition
Junior transfer Christian Haggerty had a team-high six points (two goals, four assists) in the Bobcats' 12-2 win over Providence, March 13. For his effort, he was named the ECAC Lacrosse Co-Player of the Week. Haggerty currently leads the Bobcats with eight assists.

Three For All
Christian Haggerty, Peter McNichols and Jack Oppenheimer each contributed three goals and an assist in the Bobcats' 13-8 victory, March 7 at Detroit-Mercy.

Saving Face
The Bobcats won 22-of-26 face-off opportunities against Wagner. Zach Pall led the way, going a perfect 7-for-7, while Derek Flynn (8-for-10) and Jay Binkowski (7-for-9) were also extremely efficient.

Kaiser Connects
Todd Kaiser led the Bobcats with a goal and an assist in Quinnipiac's season opener against No. 10 Loyola, Feb. 27.

Benzing Sends Back 16 Shots
Kevin Benzing did all he could to keep the Bobcats in the game, Feb. 27, against nationally-ranked No. 10 Loyola. Benzing stopped 16 of the 27 shots he faced on the day.

30 'Cats Back
The Bobcats returned 30 of 35 letter winners from 2009, including the team's top eight goal scorers. Junior Jack Oppenheimer scored a team-high 20 goals last season, while classmate Kevin Kelly was close behind with 17. Senior Ted Dimond also contributed double-digit goals with 12. Seniors Todd Kaiser (7), Garett Kerr (7), Alex DeAlmeida (5), Mike Gast (5), and Zach Dendas (5) all return for the Bobcats' offense.

On Deck
The Bobcats return to action next weekend, when they travel to Colorado to take on Air Force and Denver. Quinnipiac faces the Falcons on Friday at 6 p.m. (4 p.m. MT) and the Pioneers on Sunday at 1 p.m. (11 a.m. MT). Sunday's game will be televised live on MSG+, Comcast Sports New England, Time Warner Cable, Sports Net (Rochester and Buffalo, N.Y.), TW Sports 26, Central New York (Syracuse), TW 3 (Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.), Cox Sports Television (Connecticut and Rhode Island), Fox College Sports (DirecTV Channel 617) and Comcast Entertainment Television (Denver/Colorado Springs).