Men's Lacrosse Seeks Ivy Playoff Berth With Road Match-up Against Dartmouth

Saturday, April 27

Hanover, NH

1:30 pm

Brown University

Dartmouth College

Photo by: David Silverman Photography

Men's Lacrosse Seeks Ivy Playoff Berth With Road Match-up Against Dartmouth

4/25/2019 9:14:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Providence, R.I. – The race for the Ivy League Tournament usually comes down to the final weekend and this year is no different. The third and fourth seeds are up for grabs with numerous tiebreaker permutations in the mix. Brown will look to solidify its Ivy Tournament chances on Saturday, April 27, facing Dartmouth in Hanover, NH at 1:30 pm on ESPN+.

The Bears:Brown (6-8, 2-3 Ivy) earned a 17-7 win over Bryant on Tuesday evening in its final non-league game of the season.  Jack Kniffin and George Grell scored four goals each for the Bears.

The Big Green: Dartmouth (2-10, 0-5 Ivy) is coming off a 22-6 loss to #5 Penn last Saturday. The Big Green are looking for their first Ivy League win since 2015 when they earned a 12-11 overtime win over Harvard.

The Brown-Dartmouth Series Record:The Bears and Big Green have met 62 times, dating back to 1926, with Brown holding a 43-19 series advantage.  Brown has won the last 11 games between the two Ancient Eight teams, including a 20-6 decision last year in Providence behind three goals by Jackson Newsome. Dartmouth hasn't beaten the Bears since 2007, a 9-8 Big Green win.

The Ivy League Playoff Picture:With one Ivy League game remaining in the regular season, the Bears are looking to make their fourth straight Ivy League Tournament appearance. Penn has clinched the number one seed and Yale the number two seed. After that, the third and fourth seeds are still open. A Cornell win over Princeton would give the Bears the fourth seed in the Ivy Tournament, with the Big Red claiming the third seed. A Brown win over Dartmouth on Saturday, and a Princeton win over Cornell would initiate a three-way tiebreaker procedure for the third and fourth seeds with each team posting a 3-3 conference record. In this scenario, tiebreakers for head-to-head and record against higher seeds would still result in a tie. Goal differential among the three tied teams would be the next tiebreaker. The Bears are currently plus-one after games against Princeton and Cornell with a four-goal win over Princeton and a three-goal loss to Cornell.

Ivy League Tournament:  For the second straight year, the four-team 2019 Ivy League Men's Lacrosse Tournament will be located at a neutral site, Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium on the campus of Columbia University, with the semifinals on Friday, May 3 (6:00 pm and 8:30 pm), and the finals on Sunday, May 5 (12:00 pm).

McCaleb – Top 25 All-Time Scorer: Brown attackman Luke McCaleb '20 (Chevy Chase, MD) scored two goals and handed out three assists vs. #5 Yale, and added two goals and two assists vs. Providence. McCaleb had a goal and three assists vs. Bryant. He leads the Bears with 49 points (30 goals, 19 assists), and ranks 18^thamong Brown's Top 25 All-Time Scorers with 143 career points (80 goals, 63 assists).  McCaleb scored four goals and added an assist in Brown's win over Princeton.  He tossed in two goals vs. UMass,  netted a career high five goals in the Bears' overtime win over UMBC and followed that up with a hat-trick vs. #12 Virginia.  McCaleb netted two goals in Brown's Ivy win over Harvard. He got off to a great start to the season, scoring three goals and handing out five assists for a career high eight points vs. Quinnipiac. McCaleb added two goals and an assist vs. Stony Brook.
Career Goals:80        Career Assists:63      Career Points:143

Brown – Top 25 Leading Scorers
Player                                       G          A          Pts.
1. Dylan Molloy (2017)                  197       121      318
2. Darren Lowe (1992)                   111       205       316
3. David Evans (1996)                    145       87        232
4. Tom Gagnon (1986)                   109       99        208
5. Andy Towers (1993)                   150       53        203
6. Kylor Bellistri (2016)                  124       48        172
7. Oliver Marti (1993)                  144       27         171
8. Rick Handelman (1980)            59         109       168
9. Tom Draper (1964)                     123       39        162
    Andrew Feinberg (2011)             124      38         162
11. John Keogh (1986)                   83        75        158
12. Henry Blynn (2016)                  117       37        154
13. Thomas Muldoon (2010)          116      37         153
14. Jamie Munro (1989)                  88         64        152
15. Bernie Buonano (1988)             83         66        149
16. Mick Matthews (1985)            66         80        146
17. Bob Anthony (1970)                 48         97        145
18.Luke McCaleb (2017-present)  80         63         143
      Stephen Russo (1973)               57         86         143
20. John Meister (1979)                  67         71        138
21. Bob Scalise (1971)                    121       16        137
      Jon Thompson (2003)               97         43         137
23. Angelo Lobosco (1981)            100       35         135
24. Brian McNally (1996)             80         52        132
25. Jay McMahon (1991)              92         37        129

Panepinto Finds The Back of the Net:  Middy Michael Panepinto '19 (Needham, MA) has been a mainstay of the Bears' midfield since his freshman season and paced the Bears with three goals and an assist vs. UMass. He scored a team high two goals vs. #6 Penn, and had a goal and an assist vs. Bryant. Panepinto opened the 2019 season with two goals against Quinnipiac and added a goal vs. Stony Brook. He netted a goal and an assist vs. #12 Virginia and added goals vs. Harvard and Princeton. An All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection in 2018, Panepinto led Brown in scoring last season with 27 goals, while adding 10 assists.
Career goals:65                  Career Assists:  19              Career Points:  84

Kniffin Steps Up On Attack:  Jack Kniffin '20 (Darien, CT) has earned a spot on Brown's starting attack unit in recent weeks. He registered six points in Brown's win over Bryant with four goals and two assists. Kniffin scored two goals against #10 Cornell. He scored four goals and handed out an assist vs. #5 Yale, and scored a game high three goals in Brown's win over Providence. He netted three goals vs. Villanova and scored goals against Quinnipiac, Stony Brook, UMBC, Princeton and #6 Penn.
Career Goals:53                   Career Assists:  30                Career Points:  83

Congratulations Brown Seniors:Brown's Class of 2019 has left its mark on College Hill, making an NCAA Final Four Tournament appearance, capturing an Ivy League Championship and, so far, earning three straight Ivy League Tournament berths.  Off the field, this extraordinary group has been a leader in the classroom and has given back to the community in many ways, through the Team Impact program with teammate Nick Cioe, the Headstrong Foundation partnership, Clothes for Kids RI, the Roger Williams Park Zoo Cleanup and at the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School. Brown's Class of 2019 includes Luke Chmiel, Foster LeBoeuf, Jackson Newsome, Acie Newton, Michael Panepinto, Brian Prigmore, Will Richardson, Alex Santengelo and Carson Song.

Cook Has Right Recipe:  Bears' first-year attackman Darian Cook '22 (Redding, CT) was recently named one of the Top 25 freshmen in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, coming in at number 19. He scored a goal and handed out two assists in Brown's win over Bryant. Cook scored a goal and handed out three assists vs. #10 Cornell and ranks second on the Brown team in points (47) with 25 goals and a team high 22 assists. He handed out three assists vs. Providence. Cook scored two goals and added an assist vs. #5 Yale and had a big game vs. Princeton with two goals and three assists. He had a goal and two assists vs. Villanova. Cook scored three goals and handed out two assists vs. Holy Cross. He had a goal and an assist vs. #12 Virginia and scored three goals and added an assist vs. Harvard. Cook scored three goals in his collegiate debut vs. Quinnipiac.  He came back vs. Stony Brook with five consecutive fourth quarter goals in being named the Ivy Rookie of the Week. He had two goals and two assists vs. UMBC.

All-American Phil Goss In Goal: Goalie Phil Goss '20(San Francisco, CA), a First Team All-Ivy selection and Honorable Mention All-American, is recognized as one of the top goalies in the nation.  Goss, who was named to the 2019 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, registered a season high 17 saves against Providence, allowing just seven goals. He came up big in Brown's win over Harvard with 14 saves and made 15 saves in Brown's overtime loss to #12 Virginia. Goss also had 15 saves vs. #5 Yale. He was spectacular in Brown's win over Princeton with 16 saves, and registered 14 saves vs. #6 Penn. Goss had made 13 of his 17 saves against Villanova in the first half. Against Holy Cross, Goss made 14 saves, including three in the two overtime periods. He registered eight saves in Brown's season opening win over Quinnipiac and had nine saves in an overtime win over UMBC. A preseason Second Team All-American, Goss made 13.13 saves per game to rank second nationally in 2018. He also ranked 15th in the nation and second in the Ivy League in save percentage (.538). As a freshman, he led the nation in saves (12.75 saves per game) and started all 16 games, playing 900 out of a possible 967:31 minutes.  He turned in several virtuoso performances with 20 saves in Brown's 2017 Ivy League Tournament win over Princeton and 19 saves against Rutgers and Penn. Coming into the 2019 season, Goss had played 1746:27 minutes out of a possible 1869:38 minutes in his Brown career.

Grell Scores From The Midfield:Bears' sophomore middy George Grell (Short Hills, NJ) ranks third on the Brown team in scoring with 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists). Grell registered six points vs. Bryant with four goals and two assists. He netted two goals and handed out two assists vs. #6 Penn and had a goal and two assist vs. #10 Cornell. Grell, who wears the familiar #4 jersey, scored three goals, including the game winner vs. Harvard with 1:40 remaining, and came back with two assists vs. Holy Cross. He scored a goal vs. Villanova, and had a goal and an assist vs. #20 UMass. He opened the season with three goals and two assists against Quinnipiac and had two goals vs. #12 Virginia. Grell added a goal and four assists vs. Stony Brook, and netted a goal and two assists vs. UMBC.

More Middies:  Brown's midfield looks strong with the return of Carson Song '19 (Charlotte, NC) and Ryan Aughavin '21 (Glen Head, NY), along with defensive middy Riley Stewart '21 (Darien, CT). Song netted two goals against Quinnipiac and #12 Virginia and netted a goal against #10 Cornell and Bryant. Aughavin is Brown's fourth leading scorer with 37 points (25 goals, 12 assists) after scoring two goals vs. #10 Cornell. He scored three goals vs. Villanova and Princeton, and stepped up vs. Holy Cross with four goals and an assist. Aughavin had a big game vs. #12 Virginia with five points (2 goals, 3 assists) and came back with three goals and an assist vs. Harvard. He opened the 2019 season with three goals against Quinnipiac, added a goal vs. Stony Brook, and scored the game-winning goal in overtime vs. UMBC. Stewart scored Brown's first goal of the season vs. Quinnipiac, added an assist and four ground balls vs. Quinnipiac and netted a goal vs. UMBC. He added a goal and one assist vs. #6 Penn and scored a goal vs. #5 Yale.

Facing-Off: Matt McShea '21 (Winnetka, IL) and Jason Simaan '20 (Newport Beach, CA) have split duties in the face-off x. Simaan won 9-of-16 face-offs vs. #10 Cornell and 8-of-15 face-offs vs. Bryant, scoring his first career goal against the Bulldogs. He captured 8-of-17 face-offs in Brown's opener vs. Quinnipiac and won 14-of-23 face-offs vs. Stony Brook. He also won 15-of-23 face-offs vs. UMBC and was 18-of-27 vs. Harvard.  McShea captured 7-of-11 face-offs vs. Bryant. He had a successful outing vs. UMBC, capturing 6-of-8 face-offs and came back by winning 11-of-23 face-offs vs. #12 Virginia. He won 5-of-7 face-offs vs. Harvard.

Defensive Front:  The Bears return an experienced back line with Alex Santangelo '19 (Medfield, MA), Michael Brown '20 (Wilton, CT) and Jackson Caputo '21 (Riverside, CT) returning. Andrew Geppert '22 (Dover, NH) and Luke Gaydos '22 (Ridgefield, CT) have recently stepped up in the Bears defensive line. Santangelo has played in 63 career games, including 19 games for Brown's 2016 NCAA National Semifinalist team. Brown is tied for first on the team in caused turnovers (13). He picked-up five ground balls and caused three turnovers vs. Quinnipiac and scored his first career goal vs. Harvard. Caputo is third on the team with 12 caused turnovers. He had an assist and picked up four ground balls vs. Quinnipiac, and had an assist and picked up three ground balls vs. #12 Virginia. Geppert drew attention for his outstanding play in Brown's win over Princeton and had a strong game vs. Providence with three caused turnovers and three ground balls. He is tied for the team lead with 13 caused turnovers after registering two caused turnovers and scooping up four ground balls vs. Bryant.

The Ivy League on ESPN:  Video of all home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing a monthly package for $4.99 or a yearly package for $49.99. Mike Rubin '00 will call the play for all Brown home games with Mike Mancuso '98 providing the analysis.

Coaching Staff:  Joining head coach Mike Daly and assistant coach Brett Holm on the Bears coaching staff this year are a pair of former head coaches – John Svec from Siena and Michael Higgins from Trinity.

Head Coach Mike Daly:Third-year head Brown lacrosse coach Mike Daly posted a 10-6 overall record in his initial season on College Hill and has brought the Bears to the Ivy League Tournament in each of his two seasons at Brown, including the finals in 2017. He came to Brown after guiding the Tufts University men's lacrosse program to three NCAA National Championship titles while boasting the nation's highest scoring offense. Daly,the sixth Brown men's lacrosse coach since 1963,posted a record of 244-83 in 18 seasons as head coach at Tufts, with nine NCAA Tournament appearances and seven NESCAC titles. His Tufts teams won national championships in 2010, 2014 and 2015. Tufts led the nation in scoring in 2016 with 402 goals in 23 games for a 17.48 per game average. The Jumbos won their seventh consecutive NESCAC title and finished the year with a 20-3 record, falling in the National Championship game. Daly is among the top 10 active coaches for winning percentage and is in the top 20 for victories. A two time USILA F. Morris Touchstone National Coach of the Year (2010 and 2014),Daly's teams have won 20 or more games four times and made five appearances in the National Championship game. Daly oversaw a prolific Tufts offense that scored 423 goals in 2014 to set an NCAA record for a single season for all divisions.