ROCHESTER, NY –The top-ranked RIT (21-0) men's lacrosse team will host No. 5 Wesleyan University (17-3) in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 20 at 1 p.m. on RIT's Turf Field. It is a rematch of last year's semifinal that RIT won 22-9.
The Tigers advanced to the semifinals with a 12-7 win over No. 2 York College in Wednesday's quarterfinal, while Wesleyan defeated No. 3 and NESCAC rival Tufts University 12-11. RIT is making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and 20th overall, while the Cardinals are making their second straight appearance and sixth overall in the tournament.
Wednesday, RIT jumped out to a fast 6-0 lead over York in the first quarter and held on for the 12-7 win.
Kyle Killen (Peterborough, Ontario/Crestwood Secondary) led the Tigers with five goals, while
Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary) tallied two second-half goals and three points.
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) dominated at the face-off "X", winning 16-of-22 draws, and
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) got the win in net, making 11 saves. It is the tenth time the Tigers advanced to the semifinals, and the sixth time in eight years.
RIT enters Sunday contest third in Division III in scoring, averaging 17.76 goals per game. The Tigers lead the nation, converting 58.0 percent (47-of-81) of their man-up chances, and are third in the country, averaging 12.38 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 97 points on a single-season school record 81 goals and 16 assists. He leads Division III with 81 goals, and 21 man-up tallies, which is a team record. He is sixth in the country, averaging 3.86 goals per game.
Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) is second on the team in scoring with 62 points and leads the Tigers with 33 assists.
Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) is third in scoring with 58 points, while
Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary) is fourth in scoring with 50 points and second on the squad with 34 goals.
RIT is among the top-50 nationally allowing 7.90 goals per contest. The Tigers are second in Division III with 883 ground balls, averaging 42.05 per contest. RIT is 12th nationally, winning 65.2 percent of its face-offs and has allowed 28 man-up goals in 86 chances.
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is sixth in Division III, winning 70.2 (219-of-312) percent of his draws, and leads the team with 108 ground balls.
Eli Salama (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best), the 2018 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, is one of the three Tigers with 20 or more caused turnovers with 28. First team All-Liberty League selection
Alex Maruna (Medina, OH/St. Ignatius) enters Sunday with 22 caused turnovers, while
Matt Pogue (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Paul Secondary) is right behind with 21.
Wesleyan's Taylor Ghesquiere scored with 20 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Cardinals a thrilling 12-11 win at Tufts Wednesday. The Jumbos had taken a 10-9 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Wesleyan scored two straight to take a 11-10 lead midway through the quarter. Tufts tied the score with 1:44 remaining, setting up Ghesquiere's thrilling game-winning goal. He led the Cardinals with five goals, while Ronan Jacoby tallied four goals. Otto Bohan got the win in net, making nine saves.
Wesleyan enters Sunday averaging 12.60 goals per game. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 252-176 this season. Wesleyan is converting 43.8 percent (32-of-73) of its man-up chances.
Wesleyan features six players with at least 20 goals and 50 points. Carter Hawthorne leads the Cardinals in scoring with 85 points on 22 goals and 63 assists. Jacoby leads the team with 63 goals and is right behind with 77 points. Harry Stanton is third on the team in scoring with 61 points, and second with 52 goals. Ghesquiere has 38 goals and leads the Cardinals with nine man-up goals.
Defensively, Wesleyan allows 8.83 goals per contest. The Cardinals have allowed their opponents to 10 or fewer goals 10 times, and average 35.35 ground balls per game, while causing 172 turnovers.
Andreas Rodriguez leads the Cardinals with 43 caused turnovers, while Zach Zavalick leads the team with 127 ground balls, and has won 200-of-326 (61.3 percent) face-offs. Bohan has seen the majority of the minutes in net for Wesleyan. He has a 15-2 record with an 8.19 goals against average and a .554 save percentage.
Sunday will be third all-time meeting between RIT and Wesleyan, all in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, RIT led 9-2 after the first quarter en route to the big win.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors and can be purchased at the entry gate. The winner of Sunday's semifinal will advance to the championship game to be played on Sunday, May 27 at 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
