Men's Lacrosse | 4/28/2012 5:01:00 PM

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CANTON, NY -- In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams with the Liberty League regular season title on the line, No. 7 RIT (12-2, 5-1 Liberty League) sprinted out to a 7-0 halftime lead and never looked back, beating No. 17 St. Lawrence (12-2, 4-2 Liberty League) 15-5 on Saturday in the regular season finale  The win clinch a share of the regular season title for the Tigers who will be the top seed in the tournament, hosting Clarkson in the semifinals next Friday.

Senior #A.J. Tingle# led the Tigers with five goals on the afternoon, while feshman Brendan MacDonald (Georgetown, Ontario/Trinity-Pawling) added four points on three goals and an assist. Sophomore Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) had a goal and four assists, while Tom Riley (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) and Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) each scored two goals and added an assist.

RIT's defense was stout on Saturday, holding the Saints to just five goals. Sophomre goaltender Anthony DeLeo (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) turned in another solid performance, making 11 saves, earning his 11th win of the season.. Eric Horeth (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) and Elliott Cowburn (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity)# led the Tigers "D", combining to cause five turnovers and had six ground balls.

RIT outshot St. Lawrence 33-28 and won the ground ball battle, 35-16. Each team won 11-of-22 face-offs. #P.J. Hart# was 7-of-12 for the Tigers and had four ground balls.

The Tigers were 14-of-19 on clearing attempts, and went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

Both DeLeo and St. Lawrence goalie Jeff Goeke were sharp from the outset, as they kept the game scoreless until RIT broke through with 6:25 left in the first quarter on Tom Riley (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South)'s first goal of the game. 

After Tingle made it 2-0 a minute-seven later, Tyler Russell (Livonia, NY/Livonia) scored in the final minute of the opening quarter to make it 3-0 RIT after one.

The Tigers continued to pressure the Saints in the second quarter, as MacDonald scored back-to-back goals for RIT before Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) made it 6-0 with 3:16 to go.  Tingle scored with only 6.7 seconds left in the half to give the Tigers a 7-0 halftime lead.

Tingle continued his strong play :09 seconds into the second half, as PJ Hart (Camillus, NY/West Genesee) won the faceoff and found his teammate for an 8-0 RIT lead. 

Tucker Garfield, Matt Pope and Dave Hovey would score for the Saints in the third quarter, RIT responded with goals following each tally to build an 11-3 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Tingle, Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) and Tingle again, answered the Saints goal to keep the margin at eight goals heading into the fourth quarter.

RIT would keep its offense rolling in the final period, reeling off four straight goals in a span of 5:11 to take a 15-3 lead.  Warren, Wisman, Riley and MacDonald capped the Tigers' scoring.

Dave Hovey, Matt Pope, Tucker Garfield, Marcus Emerson and Garrett Gagne each scored for the Saints, while Jeff Goeke took the loss in net allowing seven goals and making five saves.

RIT will host fourth seeded Clarkson next Friday in the Liberty League semifinals. Game time has yet to be determined on RIT Field.