The Stevenson University men’s lacrosse (12-4) team boasts a 7-0 record in the MAC Commonwealth conference has added four wins to its nine-game win streak over the last few weeks with wins over Lycoming, Albright, Messiah and Lebanon Valley colleges.
The Mustangs have clinched a share of first place in MAC regular season standings, according to GoMustangSports. The team hopes to continue winning in the pursuit of the Commonwealth Championship and a national title; they currently are ranked nationally at No. 11 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll.
Over the last four games, the Mustangs have outscored their opponents by over a 2-to-1 margin with 58 goals scored, which is much greater than the 28 goals scored by other teams. This margin has been consistent during the nine-game win streak as the Mustangs have scored exactly double the number of goals as their components combined with 132 goals scored by the Mustangs, and 66 goals scored against the Mustangs.
The Mustangs have clearly improved since the beginning of the season, and the team has shown that it will do whatever it takes to win games this year. They have come back from deficits to win, maintained the leads and avoided slowing down since the start of the season.
In an interview with SFM Sports, coach Paul Cantabene said, “Now we are one of the better teams in the country – that’s how far we have improved from the start of the season until now. We’re starting to do some great things. But when you play our schedule, you can get down, and we had some injuries, too… so you’re going to hit a few bumps along the way. But I think we’ve handled them, we’ve learned from them, and I think we’ve become a much tougher team because of them.”
In fact, the level of play that the team has demonstrated is produced by high caliber teams. The Mustangs’ consistency in the past month speaks to the high level of performance displayed.
Midfielder Lito Flanagan said that the team has adjusted to the system and style of play demanded of top-caliber victories. The team hopes to continue to play that way for its last regular season home game against Widener and during the playoffs.
Senior goalie Connor Skeen earned honors as the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week and as the MAC Commonwealth Defender of the Week, both for the week of April 26. Skeen had a .680 save percentage in two wins for the Mustangs last week against Messiah and Lebanon Valley.
For the week of April 18, the Mustangs captured a sweep of honors from the MAC Commonwealth, when senior Matt Tompkins was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week, and sophomore Flanagan was named Defensive Player of the Week.
The Mustangs will host their next game against Widener Pride on Saturday, April 30. There is a lot on the line, mentions Skeen, as the Mustangs are currently undefeated in the conference. If the team defeats Widener, Stevenson will host the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive year since joining the MAC in 2013.
