Men's Lacrosse | 4/15/2014 1:24:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 1 RIT men's lacrosse team will face conference rival, ninth-ranked Union College in a Liberty League showdown Wednesday, April 16 at 4 p.m. on RIT's Turf Field.

RIT enters this week 13-0 and ranked No. 1 for the eighth straight week. The Tigers went 2-0 record last week, posting a 14-11 win over Nazareth College on Wednesday, and a 24-2 win at Vassar College on Saturday.
 
Versus Nazareth, Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) scored four goals, while Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) added two goals and three assists. The Tigers broke open an 8-8 tie early in the fourth quarter with four straight goals in a minute span to pull ahead for the win. Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) made 13 saves in net for RIT, picking up his ninth win of the season.

Saturday, RIT led 9-1 after the first quarter en route to a 24-2 win at Vassar College.
Owen Nicola (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) and Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) each had three goals, while Casey Jackson (Victoria, BC/Claremont), John Hill (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas), Jack Krzyston (Bedford, NH/Bishop Guertin) and Drew Tosaya (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) each scored two goals. For Hill and Tosaya, it was their first collegiate goals. Senior Anthony DeLeo (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) picked up the win in net for RIT, making six saves, while Jarryd Lee (Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonards) played the final 30 minutes, making seven saves.
 
RIT comes into this week third in Division III and first in the Liberty League in scoring, averaging 17.15 goals per game. RIT has outscored its opponents 223-128 this season and have scored in double figures in all 13 games this season. RIT's man-up unit is converting 38.2% of its chances, scoring on 13-of-34 tries.

RIT features nine players with 12 or more points, seven players with at least 20 points, five players with 30 or more points, three players with at least 40 points, and two players with 50 or more points on the season. Five-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) leads the team in scoring with 52 points on 30 goals and 22 assists. Junior Casey Jackson (Victoria, BC/Claremont) is second on the team in scoring with 46 points on 39 goals and seven assists. Jackson is tied for 13^th in Division III, averaging 3.33 goals per game. Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) is third with 44 points (32g, 12a), while Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) is fourth with 38 points (15g, 23a). Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) (18g, 12a) is fifth with 30 points, while Eddie Kiesa (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) (9g, 14a) is sixth with 23 points.

Defensively, RIT allows 8.29 goals per game. Junior Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) has started nine games, with a 9-0 record, a 9.38 goals against average and a .621 save percentage. DeLeo has played in eight games, with a 4-0 record, a 8.18 goals against average and .642 save percentage. Jarryd Lee (Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonards) has appeared in five games and has a 1.68 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) leads the team with 25 caused turnovers and is second in ground balls with 45.
 
RIT has won 205-of-365 (56.2%) of its face offs led by senior Tyler Brooks-Lambert (Seneca Castle, NY/Midlakes) who is 57^th in all of Division III winning 165-of-276 (59.8%) of his face-offs. He leads the Tigers with 105 ground balls and is 17^th in Division III averaging 8.08 ground balls per game.

Union comes into Wednesday's game 10-1 on the season averaging 10.27 goals per game. The Dutchmen have outscored their opponents 113-68, and are converting 12.2%  (6-of-49) of its man-up chances. Union is 14^th in Division III allowing 6.18 goals per game and has opponents to 10 goals or less in 9-of-11 games this season.

Senior Ron Santangelo leads the Dutchmen in scoring with 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists. Richard Gregory is second on the team in scoring with 24 points on 15 goals and nine assists, while Nolan Stauffer is third in scoring with 21 points on 13 goals and eight assists. Conor Hall has won 56.0% (107-of-191) of his face-offs with 48 ground balls. Stefan Basile has a 9-1 record in net for Union with a 6.36 goals against average and a .658 save percentage.

RIT is 10-3 all time versus Union, including a 2-0 record last season. The Tigers posted a 14-7 win last April 17 in Schenectady, N.Y. The two teams met in the Liberty League Semifinals at Tiger Stadium, with RIT coming away with a 13-7 win. Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) combined to tally nine points on three goals and six assists in two games. Nolan Connors led the Dutchmen with six points on four goals and two assists in the two games last season.