When: Saturday, April 1 at 1 p.m.
Where: Five Star Stadium | Macon, Ga.
Who: High Point (3-6, 1-1) | Mercer (3-5, 0-2)
All-Time Series: High Point leads 3-2
Last Meeting: High Point won 15-10 at High Point, N.C. on April 3, 2016
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Live Stats: MercerBears.Com
Game Notes: HighPointPanthers.Com
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team is on the road again to visit Mercer at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga. on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Both the Panthers (3-6, 1-1) and Bears (3-5, 0-2) are in need of a win to stay in the early hunt for a spot in the Southern Conference Tournament that only includes the top four teams in the league.
 
HPU is coming off a setback to conference-leading Richmond on Saturday. Meanwhile, Mercer has fallen to Air Force and Furman in the previous two weeks.
 
Quick Hitters:
• HPU and Richmond were tied 2-2 through the first quarter, but the Spiders posted an 8-0 run to gain control and cruise to a 12-4 victory last Saturday.
 
• Tim Trounter Jr. tallied 11 saves, four ground balls and three caused turnovers against the Spiders. The sophomore has recorded double digits in saves in eight of High Point's nine wins on the year.
 
• Jason Ashwood scored one of the Panthers' four goals to extend his point streak to nine games. The junior is the only member of the Purple & White to score in all nine games in 2017.
 
• Chris Young became the second Panther to reach double digits in goals on the year netting two against the Spiders. Young is tied with fellow Canadian, Connor Robinson, for the team lead with 10 goals in the spring.
 
• In the Purple & White's last trip to Five Star Stadium, Michael LeClair racked up four goals and two assists. The senior has 13 career points (9g, 4a) against the Bears.
 
• Coming off a setback to Richmond, HPU has only dropped back-to-back league contests once in its 20 conference games. Those consecutive losses came in 2016 at Air Force (March 19) and at UR (March 27).
 
• In High Point's three wins, HPU and its' opponents have each earned 84 ground balls. However, in the squad's six losses its foes are picking up 13.5 more ground balls per game than the Panthers.
 
• Saturday's contest will play a huge role in deciding the four teams to qualify for the four-team SoCon Tournament. HPU was picked to finish third and Mercer fifth in the league's preseason poll. The Panthers are tied with Bellarmine for fourth while the Bears are off to a 0-2 start to league play.
 
Troutner Making Saves
• Tim Troutner Jr. ranks second in the nation and leads the conference with 13.00 saves per contest. Only Manhattan's Michael Zingaro has a higher average (13.22 per game).
 
• The Baltimore, Md. native has double digit saves in all but one game this season. The only game he didn't reach double figures came in a 9-save performance in a 15-6 win over St. John's.
 
• Last season, Troutner averaged 12.25 saves per game, which ranked fifth in the nation. That number, along with his .555 save percentage allowed him to finish the season ranked as the No. 17 freshman in the country by Inside Lacrosse.
 
All-Time Series with Mercer
High Point leads the all-time series 3-2 with three of the games being decided by one goal. Both of the Bears' wins in the series were by one goal while HPU's 15-10 win in 2016 was the only contest decided by more than two goals.
 
Last Time They Met
The Panthers went on a 3-0 run to close the first half to take a 7-4 halftime lead. The squad then outscored the Bears 5-3 in the fourth quarter to close out the 15-10 victory. Tim Troutner made 14 saves while Michael LeClair and Peyton Garrett each posted three points in the win.
 
Next Up
The Purple & White continue their road slate next Saturday when they head to Louisville, Ky. to take on Bellarmine at 1 p.m.
 
#GoHPU