LAKEWOOD, NJ (May 6, 2023) - Georgian Court Men's Lacrosse is looking to make history this weekend. The 7-0 Lions are the top seed in the CACC Tournament seeking their third-ever CACC Tournament Championship an first since 2019. It would be their third in the last five seasons the tournament was held, with the cancelation of the 2020 postseason tournament. 

Final Opponent 
No. 2 Seed Chestnut Hill Griffins (10-4, 5-2 CACC)

Where
Waterbury, CT - LaMoy Field

When
Sunday, May 7 - 11 a.m.

How to Watch
• Sunday's game is available to watch via a free-to-view broadcast on the Georgian Court portal of the CACC Digital Network powered by HUDL. Live stats are also available at gculions.com. 
• Tickets for the game can be purchased for $10 on site. 

On the Air
• Want even more Georgian Court Men's Lacrosse coverage? Seniors Daniel Burnham, Vincent Guinta and Michael Ventresca were recently guests on the In the Crease Podcast talking about Georgian Court and their careers as Lions. The link above directs to a free streaming service with no subscription necessary. It's also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Podcasts, Amazon Music and Pandora. 

Previously vs. Chestnut Hill
• Georgian Court got a great defensive effort earlier this season in a 9-5 win over Chestnut Hill.
• Through three quarters, the Lions led 6-2.
• Vincent Giunta, Brett Bridges and Tallen Smith each picked up two goals.
• Vincent Burkhart made 15 saves in net. 

Last Time Out
• The Lions got a tough test in the semifinal round against No. 4 seeded Post.
• The two teams were tied at 14 late in the game when Tallen Smith broke the tie with a goal with 1:52 to play. He added another 50 seconds later and the Lions survived 16-14.
• Doug Mackenzie scored a team-high four goals.
• Andrew Candino was credited with the win. He played the final 18 minutes in goal making five saves and allowing just one goal.

Individual Milestones
• Michael Ventresca is now the first Lion to score 100 career goals and each goal will continue to add to his record. Daniel Burnham also just scored his 100th and is five back of Ventresca in what will be their final game. 
• Two more assists and Burnham will set a new single-season assist record as well.
• Burnham and Ventresca have also been going back-and-forth for the career shot record. They are 1-2 all-time. Ventresca got the record first, but Burnham currently has a three shot lead.
• Tallen Smith needs two assists to become the third Lion to reach 50 assists.
• One more win and Vincent Burkhart will set a new GCU single season record for wins. 
• Joe Zerr needs one more goal to tie Daniel Burnham for the most man-up goals in team history. 

CACC Tournament History
• Georgian Court has won two CACC Tournament Championships in program history, 2018 and 2019.
• With COVID-10 wiping out the 2020 postseason, GCU has won two of the last four CACC Tournaments.
• Both CACC title games were low-scoring games. GCU won in 2018 9-7 and in 2019 11-10, both over Chestnut Hill. 

All-CACC Team
• The Lions had seven players make the All-CACC Team.
• Brett Bridges won the Rookie of the Year award. Just the second Lion ever. He also made the All-CACC First Team.
• Also on the first team were Daniel Burnham and Joe Murphy. Burnham is a two-time All-CACC First Team pick, the third Lion to to earn two or more.
• Making the All-CACC Second Team were Vincent Burkhart, Justin Iannarone, Tallen Smith and Michael Ventresca.
• Mickey Hover was named the CACC Coach of the Year for the second time.

Who's Hot?
• Each of the Lions nine straight wins have come with Vincent Burkhart starting in net, but it was Andrew Candino who got the win in the semifinal round making five saves over the final 18 minutes. 
• Daniel Burnham has scored at least once in 15 straight games. He also has double-digit points in nine straight. 
• Tallen Smith has multiple points in 12 straight games. 
• Brett Bridges has 32 points in his last six games. 
• Vincent Giunta has two or more goals in six straight. 
• Max Dennington has multiple ground balls in eight or nine games.
• Justin Iannarone has won 50 of his last 69 face-off attempts. 

Lions in the CACC (statistic minimums set by NCAA and last updated Thurs. May 4)
• Georgian Court leads the league with 355 points and 140 assists, which is 15th in Division II. 
• The Lions 580 ground balls are tops in the conference as well. 
• With 246 saves, GCU is also leading the CACC and is seventh in the nation. 
• On special teams, GCU is first in the CACC stopping 75.0% of all man-up opportunities.
• Vincent Burkhart's .578 save percentage is second in the CACC and ninth nationally. 
• Daniel Burnham's 1.73 assists per game rank fifth. 
• Justin Iannarone is second in face-off percentage wining 60.7%.
• Joe Zerr has seven man-up goals which is third in the CACC. 

About the Opponent
Chestnut Hill Griffins
• Chestnut Hill advanced to the finals with a 12-8 win over No. 3 Wilmington.
• The Griffins finished 5-2 in the CACC and 10-4 overall.
• Chestnut Hill plays a tight defensive game. They've allowed double-figure goals in just three of 14 games this season.
• Austin Jones is the CACC Goalkeeper of the Year. He allows just 7.08 goals against in 763 minutes played.
• Offensively, Noah Hammon leads the team with 45 points and 34 goals.
• Sam Slater has scored 42 points with 23 goals and 19 assists.
• Zachary Schultz has won 63% of all face-offs this season.