Men's Lacrosse | 4/24/2014 11:28:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 1 RIT men's lacrosse team will face conference rival, St. Lawrence University in the Liberty League regular season finale on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Canton, N.Y.

RIT enters Saturday 15-0, ranked No. 1 in the USILA Division III poll for the ninth straight week. The Tigers posted a 2-0 record last week, posting an 8-7 win over No. 9 Union College on Wednesday, and a convincing 23-4 win versus Skidmore on Saturday.
 
Versus Union, Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week, Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) and Eddie Kiesa (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) each scored three goals, while Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) dished out a pair of assists for the Tigers. Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) and the entire RIT defensive unit were excellent, holding the Dutchmen to seven goals, including none in the third quarter. Johnston finished with 15 saves, improving to 10-0 on the season.

Saturday, RIT led 7-1 after the first quarter, 10-3 at the half en route to a 23-4 win over Skidmore College. Casey Jackson (Victoria, BC/Claremont) tallied seven points on three goals and four assists, while Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) had a goal and five assists. In all, 16 different Tigers scored goals on Saturday. Senior Anthony DeLeo (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) improved to 5-0 on the season, making nine saves. Jarryd Lee (Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonards) played the final 12 minutes, making three saves.
 
RIT comes into this week third in Division III and first in the Liberty League in scoring, averaging 16.93 goals per game. RIT has outscored its opponents 254-119 this season and have scored in double figures in 14-of-15 games. RIT's man-up unit is first in the conference and tied for 12^th in Division III converting 43.6% of its chances, scoring on 17-of-39 tries.

RIT features 13 players with 10 or more points, seven players with 20 or more points, five players with 30 or more points, four players with at least 40 points, and three 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 56 points on 32 goals and 24 assists. Jackson is second on the team in scoring with 53 points on 42 goals and 11 assists. He leads the conference and is tied for 25^th in Division III, averaging 3.00 goals per game. Aquin is third with 50 points (34g, 16a), while Warren is fourth with 44 points (16g, 28a), and Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) (22g, 12a) is fifth with 30 points.

Defensively, RIT is third in the conference, allowing 7.92 goals per game. Junior Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) has played in 10 games, with a 10-0 record, a 9.10 goals against average and a .627 save percentage. DeLeo has played in nine games. He has a 4-0 record, to go along with a 7.47 goals against average and .654 save percentage. Jarryd Lee (Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonards) has appeared in six games and has a 2.15 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) leads the team with 27 caused turnovers and is second in ground balls with 52.
 
RIT has won 241-of-413 (58.4%) of its face offs led by senior Tyler Brooks-Lambert (Seneca Castle, NY/Midlakes) who is 39th in all of Division III winning 194-of-314 (61.8%) of his face-offs. He leads the Tigers with 126 ground balls and is tied for 14^th in Division III averaging 8.40 ground balls per game.

St. Lawrence comes into Saturday's game 8-4 on the season averaging 10.83 goals per game. The Saints have outscored their opponents 138-100, and are second in the Liberty League converting 44.7%  (17-of-38) of its man-up chances. Defensively, St. Lawrence is fourth in the league allowing 8.33 goals per game and has held opponents to 10 goals or less in 9-of-12 games this season.

Freshman Conor Healy leads the Saints in scoring and is fourth in the league with 42 points on 27 goals and 15 assists. Tommy Hovey is second on the team in scoring with 35 points on 30 goals and five assists, while Jeremy Stauffer is third with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. Ryan Brighan has won 55.4% (87-of-157) of his draws with 40 ground balls. Nick Ford has an 8-3 record in net for St. Lawrence with an 8.18 goals against average and a .563 save percentage.

RIT is 18-14 all time versus St. Lawrence, including a 9-8 win last season at Tiger Stadium. Aquin led the Tigers with three goals, while Warren had a goal and two assists. Wisman added two goals, including a goal in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner. Mac Johnson led St. Lawrence with four goals and Davey Hovey added two goals and two assists. Johnston got the win in net for RIT, making 10 saves. Jack Nuland took the loss for the Saints, making seven saves. Before the win over Union on April 15, last year's win over the Saints was the last time the Tigers were held to less than 10 goals in a game.

The Tigers have clinched at least a share of the Liberty League regular season title for the third straight season. The Tigers are 16-1 all time in Liberty League regular season contests and will host the conference tournament next weekend.