Men's Lacrosse | 5/8/2014 11:41:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 1 RIT men's lacrosse team (18-0) will face No. 15 Ithaca College (15-4) in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 10 at 1 p.m. at Tiger Stadium. Ticket prices for Saturday's game are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and $1 for children.
 
The Tigers, ranked first in this week's USILA Division III poll, received a first round bye and will play make its fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 16th overall. The Bombers are appearing in their twelfth NCAA Tournament and first since 2008.
 
The Bombers advanced to the second round with a 13-4 win over Montclair State in the first round on Wednesday. Trailing 4-3 at the 9:39 of the second quarter, Ithaca out-scored the Red Hawks 10-0 the rest of the game, including no goals in the second half to advance to the second round. James Manilla led the Bombers with six points on a goal and five assists. Pat Slawta tallied five points on four goals and an assist, while Jake Long and Ryan Burns each had two goals. Scott Sidnam was outstanding in net, making 16 saves.
 
The winner advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 14 and will face the winner between Union and Amherst who play on Saturday in Schenectady, N.Y.
 
RIT comes into Saturday fourth in Division III in scoring, averaging 16.94 goals per game. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 305-151 this season and have scored 10 or more goals in 17 games. RIT's man-up unit is 12th nationally, converting 21-of-48 (43.8%) chances on the season.

RIT features 14 players with 10 or more points, and four players with 50 or more points led by 2014 Liberty League Rookie of the Year Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) who has 67 points on 42 goals and 25 assists. Casey Jackson (Victoria, BC/Claremont) is second on the team in scoring with 62 points on 47 goals and 15 assists, while Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) is third with 57 points on 26 goals and 31 assists. Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) is fourth on the team with 54 points (38g, 16a), while Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) is fifth with 40 points (26g, 14a).

Defensively, RIT allows 8.39 goals per game. Johnston has played the majority of minutes in net with a 13-0 record, a 9.52 goals against average, and a .604 save percentage. Senior Anthony DeLeo (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has a 5-0 record with a 7.49 goals against average and a .651 save percentage. Sophomore Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) is second on the team with 65 ground balls and leads the team with 33 caused turnovers.

RIT has won 305-of-505 (60.4%) of its face-offs led by senior Tyler Brooks-Lambert (Seneca Castle, NY/Midlakes) who ranks 27th nationally winning 254-of-402 (63.1%) of his draws. He is also is 13th in Division III averaging 8.61 ground balls per game.

Ithaca enters Saturday's second round contest 21st in Division III in scoring, averaging 13.58 goals per game and have outscored its opponents 251-141 this season.  The Bombers man-up unit is 31st in Division III converting on 34-of-89 (38.2%) of their opportunities this season.

The Bombers feature 10 players with 10 or more points, and three players with 50 or more points led by Slawta who has 70 points on 47 goals and 23 assists. Manilla is second in scoring with 63 points on 24 goals and 39 assists, and John Januszkiewicz is third with 53 points on 38 goals and 15 assists. Long is fourth with 42 points (28g, 14a).
 
Defensively, Ithaca is allowing just 9.40 goals per game and has held its opponents to 10 goals or fewer in 16-of-19 games.  Sidnam is 15-4 on the season with a 7.41 goals against average and .568 save percentage.  Eli Gobrecht leads the team with 33 caused turnovers, while Brandon Henne is winning 58.7% (175-of-298) of his draws and has 97 ground balls.
 
RIT is 22-27 all time versus Ithaca, but have won six straight in the series. On March 1 RIT rallied to a 15-11 win over the Bombers back on March 1. Tied 6-6 at halftime, RIT outscored Ithaca 9-5 in the second half, including 5-1 in the third quarter. Jack Krzyston (Bedford, NH/Bishop Guertin) led the Tigers with five points on three goals and two assists, while Slawta paced Ithaca with six goals. Johnston got the win in net, making 14 saves. Sidnam took the loss, making 11 saves.

RIT enters Saturday having won 28 straight home contests and are 72-7 over the last four years.