ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 1 RIT (17-0) men's lacrosse team advanced to the Liberty League Championship game for the seventh straight season with a 13-11 win over No. 4 St. Lawrence University (12-5) on Wednesday afternoon in the Liberty League Semifinals from RIT's Turf Field. The Tigers will face No. 3 Ithaca College at 1 p.m. in the title game on Saturday, May 5.

Shots were 37-26 in favor of RIT who held a 38-24 ground ball advantage. The Tigers were 12-of-13 on clears, went 2-of-3 on man-up and won 15-of-28 face-offs.

"We were able to grind out a hard-fought win," said RIT head coach Jake Coon. "We were a little sloppy at times, but found a way to get it done."

Kyle Killen (Peterborough, Ontario/Crestwood Secondary) led RIT with five points on three goals and two assists, giving him 66 goals on the season. Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) had a goal and three assists, while Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) and Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) each scored two goals. Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School), Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary) and Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) each tallied a goal and an assist. Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) won seven face-offs and grabbed five ground balls, while Jimmy Spillane (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) won eight draws and along with Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School), grabbed four ground balls. Eli Salama (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best) caused three turnovers and goalkeeper Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) improved to 17-0 in net, making six saves.

Jordan Dow led St. Lawrence with four goals and six points. Nick Brindisi finished with a goal and an assist. Matty Corbelle took the loss in net, making 10 saves. 

RIT led 5-3 after one quarter of play despite falling behind 3-0 early. Steven Peterson gave the Saints a 1-0 lead off an assist from Brett Williams at 12:29 of the quarter. Harrison Koch made it 2-0 St. Lawrence, and Dow gave the Saints a 3-0 on his unassisted goal at the 8:05 mark.

The Tigers stormed back, scoring five straight goals to end the opening quarter. Killen scored off an assist from Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) with 8:05 to play in the quarter. Cameron Gebhart scored his third of the season at 7:13, while Barnable tied the score on his goal off an assist from Killen. Killen and Tandy each scored late in the quarter to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead.

Milburn opened the scoring in the second quarter on his 23rd goal of the season giving RIT a 6-3 lead. St. Lawrence stormed back, scoring four straight goals, taking a 7-6 lead on Jack Hennessey's goal with 6:38 remaining in the half.  Brendan MacDonald (Georgetown, Ontario/Trinity-Pawling) scored off a feed from Nally late in the half to tie the game at 7-7.

RIT scored the first three goals of the third quarter, taking a 10-7 lead on Isaac's goal with the 3:49 mark of the quarter. Commandant and Killen also scored in the quarter for the Tigers. RIT's defense clamped down in the third quarter, allowing the Saints just one goal.

"Our defense stepped it up and played much better in the second half," said Coon. "Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) and Ben Tackett (Butler, PA/The Kiski School) played very well today."

Dow scored two straight goals for the Saints early in the fourth quarter to cut the RIT lead to 10-9. The Tigers answered with three straight goals. Nally made it 11-9 on his goal at 10:15, while Tandy gave the Tigers a 12-9 lead off an assist from Milburn. Isaac scored on a nice feed from Commandant with 7:22 remaining to make it 13-9 RIT.

The Saints added to late goals from Brinidisi and Dow to cut the lead to 13-11 in the final minute. St. Lawrence had a man-up chance in the final minute, but the RIT defense stood firm, getting a turnover and running out the clock for the win.

RIT beat Ithaca 19-9 on April 11 in Ithaca, N.Y. The Bombers defeated No. 2 Rensselaer 8-7 in double overtime to advance to the title game in their first year as a member of the Liberty League. Game time at RIT's Turf Field is 1 p.m.