Men's Lacrosse | 5/14/2018 1:19:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The top-ranked RIT (20-0) men's lacrosse team will host No. 2 York College (19-2) in the quarterfinals of the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. from RIT's Turf Field. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors and can be purchased at the entry gate.
The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals with a 17-9 win over No. 14 Stevens in Saturday's third round, while York went on the road and beat Amherst College 13-11. RIT is making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and 20th overall, while the Spartans are making their third straight appearance and fourth overall appearance in the tournament.
Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary) tallied a game-high five goals in Saturday's win over Stevens.
Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) tallied three goals, while
Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) scored a goal and dished out three assists.
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) earned the win in net, improving to 20-0 on the season.
RIT enters Wednesday's contest third in Division III in scoring, averaging 18.05 goals per game. The Tigers lead the nation, converting an impressive 61.3 percent (46-of-73) of their man-up chances, and are second in the country, averaging 12.65 assists per game.
RIT features six players with at least 25 goals and nine student-athletes with at least 30 points.
Kyle Killen (Peterborough, Ontario/Crestwood Secondary), the 2018 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, leads RIT in scoring with 91 points on a single-season school record 76 goals and 15 assists. He is eighth in Division III, averaging 3.80 goals per game, and leads the country with 20 extra-man goals, also a team mark.
Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) is second on the team in scoring with 58 points and leads the Tigers with 32 assists. Tandy is third in scoring with 56 points and is tied with Milburn for second on the team with 32 goals.
Defensively, RIT allows 7.95 goals per contest. The Tigers are third in Division III with 852 ground balls, averaging 42.60 per contest. RIT is 14th nationally, winning 64.9 percent of its face-offs and has allowed 26 man-up goals in 81 chances.
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is seventh in Division III, winning 70.0 (203-of-290) percent of his draws, and leads the team with 102 ground balls.
Eli Salama (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best), the 2018 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, leads RIT with 28 caused turnovers.
Alex Maruna (Medina, OH/St. Ignatius) has 21 caused turnovers, while
Matt Pogue (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Paul Secondary) is right behind with 20.
Hunter Davis and Matt Whitcher each scored three goals, while Jake Hvazda dished out three assists in York's third round win at Amherst. The Spartans held the second highest-scoring team in Division III to 11 goals on Saturday. Landry Marshall got the win in net, making 15 saves.
York enters Wednesday 15th in Division III in scoring, averaging 15.19 goals per game. The Spartans have outscored their opponents 319-137 this season. York is converting 34.2 percent of its man-up chances.
Thomas Pfeiffer leads the team in scoring with 84 points on 51 goals and 33 assists. Davis is second on the team with 44 goals and 61 points, while Hvazda is third with 35 goals and 61 points. The Spartans feature five players with at least 30 goals.
Defensively, York is tenth in the country allowing 6.57 goals per contest. The Spartans have allowed their opponents 10 or fewer goals 18 times, and are fifth in Division III with 785 ground balls, averaging 37.38 per contest.
J.D. Beck leads the Spartans with 27 caused turnovers, while Billy Sasso leads the team with 106 ground balls, and has won 219-of-353 (62.0 percent) face-offs. Marshall is third in Division III with an impressive 6.27 goals against average.
RIT and York have played once before, a 12-9 win by the Tigers in Orlando, Florida in 2009. The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals and will play the winner between Wesleyan and Tufts on Sunday, May 20.
