ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (18-2) men's lacrosse team had its 2016 season ended on Saturday, falling to Amherst College (14-4), 17-14, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship at rainy and windy Tiger Stadium. Amherst advances to the NCAA National Quarterfinals, and will face St. Lawrence next Wednesday, May 18.

Shots were even at 53-53, as well as ground balls, even at 47 apiece. Amherst won 21-of-35 face-offs, while RIT went 19-of-25 on clearing attempts. Both teams scored two man-up goals.

Kyle Sterzin (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) led RIT with four goals apiece. Jay Vakiener (Fairport, NY/Fairport) dished out a career-high five assists, while Chad Levick (Newmarket, Ontario/The Hill Academy), Steven Ricci (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Sutherland), Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry), Braden Wallace (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park), Alex Sulesky and Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) each scored a goal.

Ricci won 13 face-offs and had five ground balls, while Sterzin finished with three caused turnovers. Nick Nesbitt (Burlington, Ontario/Salisbuury School) took the loss in net, making seven saves.

"Give credit to Amherst, they played very well today," said RIT head coach Jake Coon. "They played one of their best games of the season, and we did not play our best today and that was the difference."

Quinn Moroney led Amherst with five points on three goals and two assists. Kane Haffey tallied five goals, while Dylan Park tallied four goals. Thomas Gilligan was outstanding in net for Amherst, making 15 saves, including six in the first quarter.

RIT led 3-1 after the first quarter, but allowed eight goals in the second quarter, trailing 9-7 at the half. The eight goals allowed by RIT in the second was the most allowed in a quarter all season by the Tigers. Each team scored three times in the third quarter, but Amherst outscored the Tigers 5-4 in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.

Sterzin gave RIT an early lead with his goal at the 9:24 mark off an assist from Levick. Evan Wolf tied the game for Amherst off an assist from Park. Lee scored two straight off assists from Vakiener to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Amherst offense came to life in the second quarter, tallying eight goals. Ricci, Lee and Sterzin each scored for RIT in the quarter. Moroney scored three of the Purple and White's eight goals, while Haffey, Jack Wolff and Park each scored. Amherst ended the half on an 8-3 run.

Haffey opened the third quarter with his second of the game, giving Amherst a 10-7 lead as the skies opened at Tiger Stadium. Both teams would turn the ball over a handful of times as conditions worsened over the first half of the third quarter.

As conditions improved, RIT answered with three straight goals, tying the score at 10-10 on Lee's fourth of the game with 1:07 to play in the quarter. Sulesky scored an unassisted goal at 10:46 to make it 10-8. Wallace scored a man-up goal off an assist from Vakiener with 4:03 to play in the third to make it 10-9, and Lee tied with his goal off an assist from Sulesky with 1:07 to play.

Amherst responded with two goals inside the final minute of the third quarter taking away RIT's momentum. Andrew Ford made it 11-10 Amherst with 52 seconds to play, and Park scored 28 seconds later to extend the Amherst lead to 12-10.

Park opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving Amherst a 13-10 lead 1:02 in. Sterzin broke the Amherst run with his goal at the 12:26 mark to cut the Amherst lead to 13-11. Every time RIT would try and claw back, Amherst would score. Park and Haffey tallied consecutive goals for the Purple and White, making it 16-12 on Haffey's goal with 5:56 to play in regulation.

RIT had three golden opportunities to cut into the Amherst lead when the Tigers forced the Purple and White into turnovers inside their defensive end. The Tigers had three shots from close range, but Gilligan came up with the big saves for Amherst.

Levick scored from Sterzin with five minutes to play to make it 16-13, Amherst, but Charlie Gill put the game away with his goal with 3:23 to play to make it 17-13. Hossack added a late goal for the Tigers to make it a 17-14 final.

The Tigers scored in double figures in all 20 games this season and had their streak of scoring at least 15 goals in 10 straight games snapped. Overall, RIT scored 344 goals in 20 contests this season, averaging 17.2 goals per contest

RIT made its seventh straight appearance and 18th overall in the NCAA Tournament. The had its six-year run of advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals snapped with today's loss. RIT is 20-18 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, and 6-2 overall in second round games. RIT is 15-5 at home all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

The 17 goals allowed today were the second most allowed in a game this season by the Tigers. RIT trailed at the half for just the third time all year, and were 1-1 in the previous two games.
 
Lee finished the season with 65 goals, tied for the second most in one season at the university. He now has 172 career goals, third most at the university and five away from tying the school record. His 262 career points are 31 off the school mark.

Despite the loss, RIT's senior class of Sterzin, Sulesky, Hossack, Anthony Contento (Homer, NY/Homer), Josh Harris (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill), Jakob Krzyston (Bedford, NH/Bishop Guertin), Jarryd Lee (Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonards), Dan LoBosco (South Salem, NY/John Jay), and Zack Thompson (Orangeville, Ontario/Culver Academy) finished their RIT careers with an incredible four-year record of 78-7. The 78 wins are the most for a senior class in the history of the RIT lacrosse program.