Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse will begin its postseason run against Merrimack in the opening round of the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship, with the game scheduled for Sunday, April 26 at Duane Stadium in North Andover, Massachusetts.
The matchup marks a key moment for both teams as they vie for advancement in the tournament. Quinnipiac enters as the No. 5 seed with a record of 5-9 overall and 4-4 in conference play, while Merrimack holds the No. 4 seed at 6-8 overall and a league record of 5-3.
Merrimack comes into the contest riding a four-game winning streak. The Warriors are led by Colin Kruger, who has scored 33 goals and tallied a total of 39 points this season. Jack Salva and Finn Dougherty have contributed significantly with over twenty goals each. In their previous regular season meeting on March 25—also held at North Andover—Quinnipiac secured victory with multi-goal performances from several players including Nate Watson, Duncan Zielke, Johnny Karafa, and Nick Meoni. Goalie Evan Miner made fourteen saves during that game.
This season has seen several Bobcats receive MAAC weekly honors: Nate Watson was named Offensive Player of the Week following Quinnipiac’s win over UMass Lowell; Evan Miner earned Defensive Player of the Week after defeating Sacred Heart; Max Pauwels received Faceoff Player recognition; and Duncan Zielke was named Rookie of the Week after a win at Iona.
Offensively, seven different Quinnipiac players have reached double-digit point totals this year. Watson leads with thirty-seven goals and eleven assists for forty-eight points overall, followed closely by Cole Marsala who has forty-seven points on twenty-four goals and twenty-three assists.
Defensively, Quinnipiac ranks first in caused turnovers per game within its conference and leads in clearing percentage as well as man-up offense efficiency nationally.
In preseason polling released January 26 by conference officials, Quinnipiac was picked fourth among MAAC teams. Senior Luca Cutolo (defensive midfield) and graduate student Mason Oak (goalie) were both selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team based on prior performance—including Oak’s recognition as MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in his junior season when he averaged over fifteen saves per game.
Head Coach Mason Poli is entering his twelfth year on staff—and eighth season leading the program—having guided Quinnipiac to thirty-nine wins since becoming head coach in May 2019.
