ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 1 RIT men's lacrosse team will face conference rival, No. 15 Union College for the third time this season, in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The second round game takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May at Tiger Stadium.
RIT comes into Saturday 19-0 and ranked No. 1 in this week's USILA Division III Coaches Poll. The Tigers advanced to the second round with a convincing 24-3 win over Morrisville State in the first round on Wednesday. Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year,
Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) led a potent Tigers attack with six points on four goals and two assists.
Brad Gillies (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas),
Eddie Kiesa (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) and
Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean De Brebeuf) each had five points, and
Allister Warren (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute) tallied four points.
Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA/Norwell) got the win in net, having to make just four saves.
Union advanced to the second round with a 15-12 win over No. 14 Nazareth in Wednesday's first round game. Trailing 9-6 midway through the third quarter, Union outscored Nazareth, 9-3, the rest of the way. Peter Richardson, Nolan Stauffer, Richard Gregory, Charlie Ross and Jack Scheufele each scored two goals for the Dutchmen.
RIT comes into Saturday as the highest scoring team in Division III, averaging 18.63 goals per game. RIT has outscored its opponents 354-139 this season and has scored at least 12 goals in all 19 games. The 354 goals scored breaks the previous record of 347 set in 21 games last season. The Tigers scored 20 goals in a game for the eighth time this season and tallied at least 15 goals in a contest for the 14th straight games. RIT's man-up unit is eighth in Division III, converting 27-of-60 (45.0%) of its chances.
RIT features 16 players with 10 or more points, nine players with at least 20 points, six players with 45 or more points, and three players with at least 60 points on the season.
Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) leads the team in scoring with 87 points on 54 goals and 33 assists. His 87 points are tied for fourth most in one season at the university. He has scored at least one point in all but on of his 40 career games.
Warren is second in scoring with 71 points on 42 goals and 29 assists, and
Eddie Kiesa (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) is third with 61 points on 37 goals and 24 assists. Warren is one of eight players in program history to surpass the 200-point mark with 226 points. Aquin is fourth in scoring with 57 points and is three goals from tying the all time record for career goals of 177, held by Chris Copeland. Senior defensive midfielder,
Brad Gillies (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) is fifth in scoring with 51 points and leads the team with 41 assists and is second with 79 ground balls.
Defensively, RIT allows 7.32 goals per game. Johnston has started all 19 games in net, with a 19-0 record, an 8.39 goals against average and a .589 save percentage. Johnston is 54-4 in his career, and is the all time wins leader in program history. Junior long-stick midfielder and 2015 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year,
Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) leads the team with 45 caused turnovers and 95 ground. He is tenth on the team in scoring with 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. Hossack scored six goals in last week's Liberty League title game, earning Tournament MVP honors.
RIT has won 316-of-555 (56.9%) of its face-offs led by sophomore
Steven Ricci (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) who has won 1134-of-196 (57.7%) of his draws. Freshman
Jake Quay (Latham, NY/Shaker) has won 144-of-258 (55.8%) draws this season and has 36 grounds balls.
Union comes into Saturday's second round game 14-4 on the season, averaging 12.61 goals per game. The Dutchmen have outscored their opponents 227-192, and are converting 30.3% (27-of-89) of their man-up chances. Defensively, Union allows 10.67 goals per game and has held opponents to 10 goals nine times.
Ross and Richardson are tied for the team lead in scoring with 49 points apiece. Gregory and Stauffer are tied for third in scoring with 41 points apiece. Gregory has 25 goals and 16 assists, while Stauffer has 22 goals and 19 assists. Conor Hall has won 61.9% (247-of-399) of his face-offs with 149 ground balls. Stefan Basile has a 13-4 record in net for Union with a 10.89 goals against average and a .505 save percentage.
The Tigers are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season and 17th time in school history. Overall, RIT is 17-16 all time in NCAA Tournament games. A win on Saturday would put RIT into the quarterfinals for the sixth straight season. On April 15, RIT defeated Union 22-7. The Tigers have won nine straight over the Dutchmen, dating back to 2008.
RIT is 14-3 all time versus Union, including a 25-14 win over the Dutchmen in last weekend's Liberty League Championship game.
