Lacrosse Game Central
Patriot League Championship Central

HAMILTON, N.Y. (4/28/11) – The No. 2 seed Colgate men's lacrosse team will take on No. 3 seed and nationally ranked Army in the first semi final of the 2011 Patriot League Tournament on Friday, April 29 at 5 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa.

The game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.

The Raiders clinched the No. 2 seed with a 5-1 league record, matching their best league record in program history, which was set in 2009.

Colgate (9-4, 5-1 PL) is coming off a 12-7 setback to No. 12/12 Bucknell last weekend. Senior Ben McCabe led the team in goals with two while classmate Andrew Mould had one goal and two assists. Seniors Rob Bosco and Dave Tucciarone as well as junior Jeff Ledwick and freshman Jimmy Ryan added one goal apiece.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Colgate has a 3-4 overall record in Patriot League Tournament play. Its best tournament run was in the 2008 season when the Raiders defeated Navy in the semi final before defeating Bucknell in the championship game to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The team will look to win its second tournament title this weekend.

SCORING LEADERS
All-Patriot League First Team selection, sophomore Peter Baum, who is second in the league in goals per game (2.38) and points per game (3.31), leads the team with 43 points from a career-high 31 goals and 12 assists. He is also ranked 8th in the nation in goals per game and is 16th in points per game. Following Baum is second team selection, Mould, who has 25 points off 20 goals and five assists while McCabe is third with 18 goals and four assists for 22 points.

RAIDERS' STATS
Colgate leads the league in penalty-killing percentage (.714), has the fewest turnovers per game (14.77), the fewest penalties per game (3.08) and is second in faceoff percent (.542). The Raiders are also ranked 13th nationally in fewest turnovers, 14th in winning percentage (.692), 17th in scoring defense (8.15) and are 20th in faceoff win percentage (.542).

SERIES
Army leads the all-time series with the Raiders 26-6 since the teams first met in 1923. Colgate has a 4-13 home record and a 2-13 road record against the Black Knights. The teams will meet for the first time at a neutral site and for the second time in tournament play. Army won the only meeting in tournament play in 2006 when they defeated No. 1 seed Colgate as the No. 4 seed in Hamilton, N.Y. Colgate won the last meeting earlier this season 13-11 at home.

SCOUTING NO. 3 SEED ARMY
The Black Knights, who are currently ranked No. 17/16 in the national polls, completed the 2011 Patriot League regular season with a 4-2 league record and currently have a 9-4 overall record. Their only four losses this season were to No. 16/17 Massachusetts, No. 2/1 Syracuse, Colgate and No. 15/15 Bucknell.

Army is led by Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, senior Jeremy Boltus, and fellow All-Patriot League First Team selection, sophomore Garrett Thul. Boltus, who leads the league and is ranked second nationally in assists per game (2.85) and points per game (4.62), has 60 points from 23 goals and a team-high 37 assists.  Thul is second on the team with 38 goals and three assists for 41 points. He leads the league and is ranked second nationally in goals per game (2.92). At defense, the Black Knights also sport two first team selections with Goalkeeper of the Year, senior Tom Palesky, and Defensive Player of the Year, senior Bill Henderson.

PATRIOT LEAGUE AWARDS
The team had four players named to the All-Patriot League teams and two athletes named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. Baum was a first team selection while seniors Mould, Jim Carroll and Dave Tucciarone were named to the second team. Baum, a geography major, was also selected to the Academic All-Patriot League Team along with sophomore James Queeney, who is pursuing a major in mathematics. The sophomores were two of 12 athletes named to the academic team.