Men's Lacrosse | 5/19/2017 11:00:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 2 RIT (19-2) men's lacrosse team continues post-season play on Sunday, May 21 in the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Tigers host No. 4 Wesleyan University (20-1) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. from Tiger Stadium. The winner advances to the National Championship Game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday, May 28.
 
The Tigers advanced to the semifinals after a 15-9 win over No. 8 SUNY Cortland in Wednesday's quarterfinal. Six Tigers scored two or more goals led by Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy) and Brendan MacDonald (Georgetown, Ontario/Trinity-Pawling) who each scored three times. Chad Levick (Newmarket, Ontario/Huron Heights Secondary) led RIT with four points on two goals and two assists, while Kyle Killen (Peterborough, ON/Crestwood Secondary ) and Ben Tackett (Butler, PA/The Kiski School) each scored two goals and dished out an assist.
 
RIT enters Sunday's contest fifth in Division III in scoring, averaging 17.29 goals per game. The Tigers are out-scoring their opponents 363-197 and are 25-of-70 (35.7 percent) with the man-advantage. RIT has scored 10 or more goals 19 times, including six games with 20 or more goals. The Tigers have won 14 straight games, scoring 277 goals over that stretch.
 
The Tigers feature 15 players with 10 or more points, 12 with 10 or more goals and five players with 40 or more points. Ryan Lee (Sharon, Ontario/The Hill Academy), who was named the RIT Co-Senior Male Athlete of the Year on May 8, leads the team and is 24th in Division III in scoring with 101 points on 59 goals and 42 assists. He is four points shy of RIT's single-season record of 105 set by Josh Molinari in 2004. Chad Levick (Newmarket, Ontario/Huron Heights Secondary) is second in scoring with 87 points on 59 goals and 28 assists. He leads the team with seven game-winning goals. Kyle Killen (Peterborough, ON/Crestwood Secondary ) is third in scoring with 51 points, and Braden Wallace (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park) is fourth with 47 points.
 
Defensively, RIT has allowed 9.38 goals per contest, having held its opponents to fewer than 10 goals 14 times. The Tigers are 349-of-624 (55.9 percent) from the face-off "X" and are averaging 41.8 ground balls and 11.5 caused turnovers per contest.
 
Jimmy Spillane (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) has taken the majority of RIT's face-offs, winning 183-of-338 (54.1 percent) this season. Lee leads the team with 62 ground balls. J.D. Hall leads the team with 29 caused turnovers, while Patrick Hannigan (Hanover, MA/Hanover) is second with 28. Nick Nesbitt (Burlington, Ontario/Salisbuury School) is 17-2 in net this season with a 9.70 goals against average and a .571 save percentage. He has won his last 13 starts with a 9.01 goals against average and a .612 save percentage in that stretch.
 
Wesleyan enters today having won 20 straight games, including a thrilling 14-13 victory over No. 3 Bates in Wednesday's quarterfinal game. Wesleyan led 6-0 at halftime, but Bates tied the score at 13-13 with 1:29 to play. Harry Stanton scored the game-winner with 38 seconds to play to send the Cardinals to the semifinals. Stanton led Wesleyan with six points on five goals and an assist, while Christian Barker tallied five points on a goal and four assists. Taylor Ghesquiere added three goals, and Ted Bergman got the win in net, making 13 saves.
 
The Cardinals enter today 26th in Division III in scoring, averaging 14.14 goals per game. Wesleyan is out-scoring its opponents 297-187 on the season. The Cardinals are 35-of-72 (48.6 percent) on its man-up chances and have scored 10 or more goals 19 times.
 
Stanton is one of two Cardinals with 90 or more points. He leads the team with 110 points on 81 goals and 29 assists. Carter Hawthorne is second with 94 points on 40 goals and 54 assists. Barker is third with 54 points, and Ghesquiere is fourth with 50 points. 
 
Defensively, the Cardinals allow 8.96 goals per contest, winning 288-of-544 (52.9 percent) of its face-offs. Wesleyan averages 35.3 ground balls, while causing 7.57 turnovers per game.
 
Zach Zavalick has taken the majority of the draws, winning 184-of-334 (55.1 percent) this season. He leads the team with 92 ground balls, while Andres Rodriguez has 23 caused turnovers. Bergman is 20-1 with an 8.81 goals against average and a .569 save percentage.
 
Wesleyan won the only meeting between the two universities, an 11-8 in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament at Tiger Stadium.

Tickets for Sunday's game are $5 for adults and $3 for students/youth and can be purchased at the main entrance to Tiger Stadium.

RIT is looking for its second NCAA Championship game appearance, while Wesleyan is searching for its first trip to the title game.