ST. BONAVENTURE (9-3, 4-1 MAAC) vs. CANISIUS (2-11, 1-4 MAAC)
Saturday, April 30 – 12:00 p.m.
Marra Athletics Complex
TV: ESPN+

OPENING FACEOFF
St. Bonaventure hosts Little Three rival Canisius Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale. The game will serve as an opportunity for the Bonnies to both honor their first full graduating class in program history as well as play for the MAAC regular season title.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Bonnies enter the final weekend of MAAC regular season play tied with Marist atop the conference standings at 4-1 league action.

St. Bonaventure can capture its first regular season crown with a win. The Bonnies could also be the top seed in the tournament with a Marist loss based upon their 2-0 head-to-head record vs. both the Red Foxes and Manhattan, which has completed its league schedule with a 4-2 mark. The site of the MAAC final four will be released by the conference with the announcement of the tournament bracket following Saturday's games. 

The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, May 5 with the championship game slated for Saturday, May 7.

Regardless of their finish, the Bonnies are guaranteed to greatly exceed their preseason prediction: Bona was picked to finish fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Western New York rivals St. Bonaventure and Canisius square off in what has become an entertaining rivalry since the rebirth of the Bona program for 2019.

As Division I rivals, Canisius owns a 2-1 series lead with the Bonnies grabbing their first victory over the Griffs on home turf last season, 12-11, which avenged a win by Canisius in Buffalo earlier that same week, 11-9.

For the second straight week, the Bonnies will be looking to score its first-ever MAAC win over their opponent: like Quinnipiac last week, Bona's lone victory over Canisius came in "non-conference" action last season and did not count toward the MAAC standings.

Jake Rosa scored six points in the last matchup while Austin Blumbergs posted a hat trick. Eight different Bonnies scored in the win.

Between 1989-93, the two schools split four meetings of varsity intercollegiate lacrosse.

THE COACHING MATCHUP
St. Bonaventure head coach Randy Mearns, a Canisius alum and Canisius College Hall of Fame member, coached the Golden Griffs for 19 seasons, leading his alma mater to 100 victories.

Mearns ranks second in school history for career scoring (190 points) and is the program's all-time leader in assists (95).

Leading Canisius is Mark Miyashita, who played four seasons for Mearns from 2000-03 while posting 145 career points. The two also coached together in 2018 when Mearns picked Miyashita to his staff for Team Canada at the FIL World Championships in Israel as the Canadians captured the silver medal.

THE FOUNDATION
This weekend will be a special one for the Bonnies as they honor the members of their senior class. When the program debuted at the Division I level in 2019 following the announcement of the rebirth of the program nearly two years prior, St. Bonaventure boasted the youngest team in the nation with 34 first-year players – a total that ranks third in men's lacrosse NCAA Division I history.

Twenty of those players who helped set the foundation for the program and are now in their fourth seasons make up what is now the second-most veteran roster in the country, behind only 28 seniors on the Rutgers roster. With the addition of three transfers, there are 23 players on the Bonnies roster who are seniors academically. Each senior has the option of taking a fifth year through NCAA eligibility rules post-pandemic should they so choose.

#2 John Fox – Wolcott, Conn.

• Played in 40 of the team's 41 games during his career, scoring six goals with six assists for 12 total points
• Scooped up 29 groundballs with three caused turnovers
• Scored a key goal in last week's victory at Quinnipiac

#3 Max Brie – Westmount, Quebec

• Played in 12 career games prior to being sidelined by injury
• Won 12 faceoffs and caused two turnovers and has remained an outstanding teammate

#5 Andrew Hersey – Lancaster, N.Y.

• Appeared in 33 career games including 12 starts
• Started nine games this year with career highs in groundballs (16) and caused turnovers (6)
• Two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team

#7 Ben Mazur – Lancaster, N.Y.

• Logged minutes in 21 career games including seven starts in net
• Made 110 career saves with a .476 career save percentage
• Two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team

#9 Austin Blumbergs – Penn Yan, N.Y.

• Two-time MAAC All-Conference selection, earning First Team honors as a junior and All-Rookie Team accolades as a freshman
• Played in 40 career games, ranking fifth in Bona's career goals (45) as well as points (56) including a career-high 16 goals and 20 points this year
• Two-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection and 2022 Preseason All-MAAC honoree

#12 David Steria – Baldwinsville, N.Y.

• Played in 30 games including 15 starts, with starts in all seven games this year prior to injury
• Despite missing the past month due to injury, still ranks among the MAAC top-10 for caused turnovers with 10 this year.
• Owns 23 career caused turnovers and 28 groundballs while helping the Bonnies to top-five national ranking in team defense the past two years

#16 Max Carbaugh – Orchard Park, N.Y.

• Played in eight career games

#17 Matthew DeGirolamo – Vermillion, Alberta

• Played in 29 career games including 14 starts
• Led team in goals during its first season, netting 15 goals as a freshman. Owns 21 goals and 23 points for his career
• 2021 MAAC All-Academic Team selection

#18 Brodie Anderson – Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Played in 20 career games including 16 starts while fighting injuries
• Started 11 games as a freshman, recording 11 groundballs and six caused turnovers
• Two-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree

#20 Jack Kenney – East Aurora, N.Y.

• Two-time selection to MAAC All-Academic Team

#22 CJ DiRienzo – Lancaster, N.Y.

• Played in 27 career games with 10 groundballs
• Logged minutes in all 13 games of first Division I season
• 2021 MAAC All-Academic Team selection

#24 Jackson Rose – Lakeway, Texas

• Ranks second in Bonnies history for career goals (49)
• Leads all MAAC players this season with 31 goals and also stands second nationally in shot percentage
• 10 career hat tricks

#28 Zach Owens – North Canton, Ohio

• Played in 34 career games with 13 career goals and seven assists for 20 points
• All 13 career goals have come in the past two seasons including eight last year, highlighted by one goal in last year's MAAC quarterfinal win, and five so far this season
• Two-time MAAC All-Academic Team pick

#31 Cian Collins – Corning, N.Y.

• Saw time in 34 career games including 17 starts while ranking as one of the program's scoring leaders with 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 total points
• Posted 11 goals and eight assists as a freshman, and this season has played in every game with six goals and six assists for 12 total points
• MAAC All-Academic Team honoree the past two seasons

#36 Nick Conklin – Johnson City, N.Y.

• Started 23 of 34 career games with six career goals and 74 total groundballs as well as 38 caused turnovers
• Earned College Crosse Freshman All-American Team honorable mention in 2019 after ranking 22^nd nationally in caused turnovers per game

#40 Brett Beetow – Lancaster, N.Y.

• Transferred to the program before the 2020 season and has started 11 of 28 career games with the Bonnies
• Logged nine goals and 10 assists for 19 total points, adding 19 groundballs
• Scored a goal and added an assist in the program's first-ever MAAC postseason win last year and netted the game-winner in the program's first-ever MAAC conference win vs. Manhattan last year

#42 Ryan Burns – Corning, N.Y.

• Played in 39 career games including all 12 this season
• Owns 19 career groundballs with nine caused turnovers
• Two-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree

#43 Zack Belter, North Tonawanda, N.Y.

• Started 31 of 33 career games played with six goals and eight total points, adding a program-record 43 caused turnovers and 68 groundballs
• 2021 MAAC All-Conference Second Team, scoring a goal in Bona's MAAC quarterfinal win, and key part of league's top defense the past two years
• 2022 Preseason MAAC All-Conference selection

#45 Brett Dobson – Oshawa, Ontario

• National leader in save percentage as a junior and senior and ranked top-five nationally in GAA both seasons
• Nine-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Week; 2019 MAAC All-Rookie Team, 2021 MAAC Second Team; 2021 MAAC All-Championship Team; Tewaaraton Award Watch List; Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American
• 500+ career saves

#47 Nick Slattery – Irondequoit, N.Y.

• Joined team as a transfer for the 2021 season and has played 12 games with four goals and six points despite having this season shortened due to injury
• Scored three goals last season, including three total points in MAAC quarterfinal win over Detroit Mercy

#51 Sean Westley – Whitby, Ontario

• Played in every Bonnies game over four seasons and became the first player in program history to reach 100 career points
• Program leader in career goals (62), assists (46), and points (108); leads all MAAC players in points per game this season
• Three-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Week; Two-time MAAC All-Academic Team; 2019 MAAC All-Rookie Team; 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District

#73 Jack Almond – South Glengarry, Ontario

• Logged time in 32 career games
• Scored 61 faceoff wins with 15 career groundballs
• Career-best .441 faceoff winning percentage as a senior

#91 Ben Garcia – Springfield, Pa.

• Joined program as a transfer prior to the 2020 season and has played in 17 career games with two goals and two assists
• Played in all four games with a goal this season prior to season-ending injury
• 2021 MAAC All-Academic Team

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