vmi lax trio vs. le moyne
Brian McWalters | RoadWin Photos

Lacrosse

Lacrosse heads to Cleveland State for NEC battle

LEXINGTON, Va. – After earning its first Northeast Conference victory last weekend against Mercyhurst, the VMI lacrosse team travels to NEC foe Cleveland State for another league battle this weekend.
 
The opening face-off is set for a 12 p.m. start at Krenzler Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
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At 7-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, the Keydets continue their hot start as the No. 1 scoring offense in the country averaging 16.44 goals per game. The Keydets have been effective in the attack position thanks to owning the highest clearing percentage in the NCAA at .929 having cleared 183 of 197 attempts. On the defensive end, the Keydets own the No. 11 scoring defense in the nation allowing just 8.56 goals per contest (77 allowed goals over nine games).
 
Luke Rusterucci ranks third in the NCAA in goals per game at 3.67 and is fourth in points per game at 5.89 points per outing by way of averaging 2.22 assists. Dayton Bagwell ranks fourth in the NCAA close behind at 3.44 goals per game.
 
Junior midfielder Austin English continues to shoot the ball at a high percentage ranking 20th in the NCAA with a .439 shot percentage scoring 29 goals on 66 shot attempts.
 
In the cage, senior goalie Damian Levin ranks fifth in the country with a .624 save percentage and sixth overall in saves per game at 13.67. He also owns the 13th-best goals-against average in the land at 8.81.
 
About Cleveland State (3-6, 1-1)
The Vikings own three wins on the season having defeated Bellarmine, Canisius and Wagner for their first NEC win of the year.  Given a difficult schedule to handle, Cleveland State has fallen to the likes of Marquette, St. Bonaventure, No. 1 Notre Dame and Big 10 opponents Ohio State and No. 20 Michigan. Last week, they were defeated on the road at Le Moyne by an 11-6 tally.
 
Xander Johnson leads the team with 17 goals on the year to go with three assists for a team-high 20 points. Amiri Austin has tallied nine goals and seven assists for 16 points, while Alex Van Voorhis is close behind with five goals and nine assists on the season. Jacob Lubrant is another offensive leader with eight goals thus far.
 
Defensively, Griffin Valli has totaled 12 caused turnovers and Drew Graves is close behind with 10. Goalie Justin Dalum has played all but eight minutes in the cage and owns a 12.86 goals-against average and 97 saves (.460 save percentage).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

A/M
6' 0"
Sophomore
Austin English

#7 Austin English

M
6' 0"
Junior
Damian Levin

#44 Damian Levin

GK
5' 10"
Senior
Luke Rusterucci

#8 Luke Rusterucci

A
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

6' 0"
Sophomore
A/M
Austin English

#7 Austin English

6' 0"
Junior
M
Damian Levin

#44 Damian Levin

5' 10"
Senior
GK
Luke Rusterucci

#8 Luke Rusterucci

6' 0"
Senior
A