Men's Lacrosse | 5/12/2011 11:02:41 AM

ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 2 RIT men's lacrosse team will host Denison University in the Second Round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 14 at 1 pm on RIT Field. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, and $1 for children 12 and under. Children under the age of two get in free.

The Tigers earned the automatic berth into the tournament after winning their second straight Empire 8 title last Sunday with a 24-10 win over Nazareth College.

The Big Red advanced to the second round with a 7-6 win over Ohio Wesleyan in the first round on Wednesday. Senior Tanner Smith scored with 1:17 remaining in regulation to break a 6-6 tie and help the Big Red advance past their archrival.

RIT (17-0) makes its 13th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight. Denison makes its 19th appearance overall in the tournament, and seventh straight.

The winner advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 18 and will face the winner between Middlebury and Amherst who play on Saturday in Amherst, Massachusetts.

RIT enters this weekend's games winners of 24 of its last 25 games dating back to last season and are the only remaining undefeated team in all of Division III. The 17 straight wins shatter the old school record that had stood since 1985, and the 17-0 start is the best start in program history.

RIT scored 15 first-half goals versus Nazareth en route to their second straight Empire 8 title. Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity) tallied three goals and dished out three assists earning Tournament MVP honors. Senior attack Kelso Davis (Freeport, ME/Deerfield Academy) scored a career-high six goals on the afternoon. Bob Tonnessen (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) picked up his 17th win of the season allowing seven goals and making 12 saves in 46 minutes of action.

RIT comes into Saturday averaging 15.76 goals per game, which is fifth in all of Division III. RIT has outscored its opponents 268-130 this season and have scored in double figures in every game. RIT's man-up unit is 30-of-80 (37.5%) on the season.

RIT features 12 players with 10 or more points, seven players with 20 or more points and four players with at least 40 points on the season. MacIntosh and junior attack Tyler Russell (Livonia, NY/Livonia) lead the team in scoring with 62 points apiece. Russell is sixth in the nation averaging 3.47 goals per game and fifth with 59 goals. The 59 goals are the fourth most in one season all-time at RIT, and six shy of the school record, set by Greg Goulet in 1980. MacIntosh is second on the team with 36 goals and leads the Tigers with 26 assists. Davis is third with 53 points (34g, 19a); Iric Bressler (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) is fourth with 43 points (14g, 29a), while Jordan Collins-Hartwig (Buffalo, NY/Clarence) is fifth with 36 points.

Defensively, RIT allows just 7.65 goals per game. Tonnessen is 17-0 on the season with a 7.54 goals against average, and a .590 save percentage. He is fifth all-time at RIT with 32 wins and is 32-8 all-time as a starter. MJ Kiekebelt (Caledon, Ontario/St. Andrews College/Aurora) is one of the nation's premier long-stick midfielders. The 2011 Empire 8 Player of the Year has 108 ground balls and 48 caused turnovers, both of which lead the team by a wide margin. Kiekebelt also has 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists this season. He is seventh all-time at RIT with 315 ground balls and has 153 caused turnovers. Junior Eric Horeth (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) has been a welcome addition to the Tigers defense, chipping in with 21 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls.

Denison, ranked 16th nationally, comes into Saturday's second round game averaging 11.85 goals per game and has outscored its opponents 154-73. The Big Red man-up unit has scored on 10-of-43 (23.3%) opportunities this season.

The Big Red feature eight players with 10 or more points and three players with at least 30 points led by senior Tanner Smith who has 39 points on 16 goals and 23 assists. Senior Kyle Brown is second on the team in scoring with 34 points on 21 goals and 13 assists. Emmett Jones is third in scoring with 32 points (26g, 6a), while Colin Molloy is fourth in scoring with 26 points (22g, 4a).

Defensively, Denison is fifth in Division III allowing just 5.62 goals per game and has held its opponents to 10 goals or less in 12 of its 14 games this season. Sophomore Nick Petracca has seen the majority of the minutes in net this season for the Big Red. He is 8-2 with a 5.27 goals against average and a .625 save percentage. Sophomore defenseman Spencer Riehl and junior long pole Nick Farrell lead the defensive unit with 22 caused turnovers apiece.

RIT is 0-6 all-time versus Denison. These two teams last met back in 2001 with the Big Red pulling out a 16-5 win.