ROCHESTER, NY – For the fourth straight year, the RIT (18-0) men's lacrosse team sits atop the Liberty League Conference. The top-ranked Tigers defeated third-seeded Union College (12-4), 25-14 in the title game Sunday afternoon at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers win their sixth straight conference title overall and fourth straight Liberty League Championship, earning the automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

"I thought we came out with great energy today," said RIT head coach Jake Coon. "Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) made some key early saves, and I thought it was a total team effort all around. Our seniors were great as well. I'm just very proud of this group. "

Junior long-stick midfielder Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) was named Tournament MVP. Hossack, who entered today's game with four goals in 17 contests this season, scored a career-high six goals, grabbed seven ground balls, went 8-of-13 from the face-off "X", and had three caused turnovers.
 
"Matt was all over the place for us today," said Coon. "He was the best player on the field and very much deserving of the MVP."

Senior Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) finished with five points on four goals and an assist, while classmate Brad Gillies (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) dished out a career-best five assists. Kyle Sterzin (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) each tallied three goals, Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) had three points, including his 50th goal of the year and 80th point. In all 10 different Tigers scored at least one goal, and 14 men tallied at least one point.

Peter Richardson and Nolan Stauffer led Union with five points apiece. Richardson tallied three goals and had two assists, while Stauffer finished with two goals and three assists. Richard Gregory had two goals and two assists, while Jack Scheufele scored a pair of goals. Stefan Basile took the loss in net, making 10 saves.

Union led 3-1 early in the first quarter on goals from Charlie Ross, Adam Rosenthal and Stauffer. The Tigers opened the scoring when Sterzin scored off an assist from Alec Sulesky (Medina, OH/Medina) at 11:23 of the quarter, but Union responded with three straight to take an early two-goal lead.

The Tigers responded with five straight goals to close out the first quarter, taking a 6-3 lead on Aquin's goal with 16 seconds to play. Lee, Hossack, Sterzin and Aquin all scored in the first quarter for RIT. Aquin had two of his three goals in the opening quarter.

Hossack opened the second quarter scoring with his second goal of the game increasing the RIT lead to 7-3. Gregory and Scheufele scored consecutive goals for the Dutchmen 58 seconds apart early in the second quarter, cutting the RIT lead to 7-5.

Once again, the Tigers went on one their patented runs, tallying five straight goals in the second quarter, opening up a 12-5 lead on a Steven Ricci (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) goal off an assist from JD Hall (Centennial, CO/Arapahoe) with 8:26 to play. Warren, Chad Levick (Newmarket, Ontario/The Hill Academy) and Sulesky each had goals in that stretch for RIT. Gillies assisted on two of RIT's five goals in that run.

Union would not go away, tallying four straight goals, cutting the RIT lead to 12-9 on a goal from Cam Slatton off a feed from Richardson with 4:21 to play in the half. The Tigers answered right back, tallying the five goals of the second quarter, taking a 17-9 lead into the half.

The 17 goals scored in the first half and 11 second quarter tallies both tied season-highs for the Tigers. They scored 11 in the first quarter and 17 in the opening half of a 24-1 win over SUNY Geneseo on April 1. Shots were 29-26 Union in the first half, as both teams combined to score 26 first-half goals.

Hossack continued to dominate in the second half, scooping up the loose ball on the opening face-off and scoring 14 seconds into the half giving the Tigers an 18-9 lead. 

After a pair of Dutchmen goals cut the RIT lead to 18-11, the Tigers ran off four straight goals, taking a 22-11 lead on Warren's man-up tally with 3:20 to play in the third quarter. Hossack and Aquin each scored in that run for RIT, including a pair from Hossack.

Paul Alberti scored the third Union goal of the quarter at the 2:24 mark off an assist from Rosenthal that cut the RIT lead to 22-12.

Sterzin and Ben Tackett (Butler, PA/The Kiski School) scored for RIT in the fourth quarter, while Richardson scored both Union goals to make it a 25-14 final. The Tigers now have 330 goals on the season in 18 games, to lead the nation.

The Tigers will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season and 17th time in school history. Overall, RIT is 16-16 all time in NCAA Tournament games. Last season, RIT advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the third time over the last four seasons. Overall, RIT has made the NCAA Quarterfinals five straight times.
 
RIT head coach Jake Coon enters the NCAA Tournament with a 106-14 record in six seasons at the university, including a 38-1 mark since the start of the 2014 season and 92-8 record over his last 100 contests.

The Tigers, a perfect 18-0 on the season, will await their opponent in the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The selection show will be at 9 pm on Sunday, May 3 and can be viewed at this link.

2015 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Tournament MVP:
Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) - RIT