Griffins Travel to Florida to Face a Pair of Ranked Foes
The Westminster men's lacrosse team will open a four games in nine days road trip with two games in the state of Florida. The Griffins will play at No. 17 Saint Leo on Saturday and then visit No. 9 Tampa on March 14 to begin the busy travel slate.
 
About the Griffins
Westminster will take to the road after picking up a 14-13 win over then-No. 18 Rockhurst on Saturday at Dumke Field. The Griffins rallied from three goals down on two separate occasions to earn the win in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
Jake Berard led the Griffins effort with five goals in the win. He tallied the game-winner with 38 seconds remaining to snap a 13-13 tie. Berard took a team-high eight shots with six on cage. Nick Marcy added three goals and two assists in his collegiate debut. Cole Finders added two goals.
 
The Griffins won only 11 of 30 faceoffs on the day with 26 ground balls picked up. They took 29 shots as a team- getting 22 on goal – and they committed 20 turnovers. Westminster allowed Rockhurst to take 47 shots and created six caused turnovers. The Griffins had a .750 clearing percentage.
 
Chase Flinders went 10 of 20 on faceoffs to lead the team in wins. Cole Flinders and Kolton Atkinson led the team with five ground balls apiece.
 
Conner McFarlane earned the win in cage – his first since 2015 – with 14 saves. He closed out the win with four stops in the fourth quarter.
 
Berard's Big Day
After spending most of the last two seasons as a faceoff specialist and scoring just seven goals, Jake Berard emerged as an offensive threat with a team-high five goals in the opener. Berard was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. He is second in school history with a .588 faceoff winning percentage. He also places second in the school record book with 210 ground balls.
 
Marcy's Debut
Nick Marcy made an impact on the Griffins in his first collegiate game on Saturday. The freshman from Portland, Ore., finished with five points after scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists. Marcy scored the first two goals of the season for the team and then broke a 12-12 tie with a strike at 5:20 of the fourth quarter. He finished the afternoon with four shots while getting four ground balls and one caused turnover.
 
Sarjeant Leads the Charge
Thomas Sarjeant finished the opener with four shots and one assist. The Preseason All-RMAC selection led the Griffins with 51 points last season after scoring 20 goals. Sarjeant led the team with 31 assists with multiple assists in eight contests. He led the RMAC by averaging 2.58 assists per game, which would have ranked third in the NCAA if the team were eligible for national rankings.
 
Flinders a Threat
After placing second on the team with 25 goals as a freshman last season, Cole Flinders notched a pair of goals in Saturday's opener. He took five shots on the day and tied for the team lead with five ground balls. Last season, Flinders scored in nine games with multiple goals in a game eight times.
 
All-Conference Defensive Duo
The RMAC head coaches voted Grant Phillips and Chase Flinders to the preseason all-conference team. Flinders was chosen at LSM after playing in all 12 games least season and placing second on the team with 43 ground balls. Phillips made the team at one of the four defender spots. A starter in all 12 games a year ago, Phillips finished with 10 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
 
Team Chosen to Finish Third
Westminster received 19 points in the Men's Lacrosse Preseason poll to secure a third-place finish in the poll that was released on February 8. They earned one first-place vote in the poll of the league's six head coaches. Colorado Mesa, the defending RMAC Tournament champions, is the favorite to win the conference after receiving 24 points and four first-place votes. Rockhurst was chosen second with 20 points and one first-place vote.
 
Opponent Info: No. 17 Saint Leo
• Saint Leo will enter Saturday's game at 4-1 overall and 2-0 at home.
• The Lions are coming off a 26-3 win over Emmanuel on Monday.
• Kyle Pauwels leads the team with 22 goals and 27 points.
• The two teams will meet for the first time on Saturday.
 
Opponent Info: No. 9 Tampa
• Tampa starts the week at 4-2 and will play twice before meeting the Griffins.
• The Spartans are 3-1 at home and both losses this season are against ranked opponents.
• Andrew Kew has a team-high 25 goals and 27 points.
• Westminster and Tamps have never played each other.
 
Looking Ahead
The Griffins four-game roadie continues with two RMAC games late next week. They play at Rockhurst on March 17 in Kansas City, Mo., before a contest at Maryville on March 19 in St. Louis, Mo.