ROCHESTER, NY – The 2018 RIT men's lacrosse team won a program record 21 games in 2018. The Tigers won their seventh straight Liberty League championship, and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the ninth straight season and 20th time in program history. RIT advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals for the second straight season and the sixth time in eight seasons.
Nine Tigers were named United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-Americans.
Kyle Killen (Peterborough, Ontario/Crestwood Secondary),
Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid),
Alex Maruna (Medina, OH/St. Ignatius),
Eli Salama (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best) and
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) were first team selections.
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) was a second team pick, while
Aidan Milburn (Vancouver, British Columbia/Sentinel Secondary),
Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) and
Ben Tackett (Butler, PA/The Kiski School) were honorable mention selections.
Killen was named the Iroquois Nationals Award recipient honoring Division III's best player. He also received the Lt. Col. J.L. (Jack) Turnbull Award as Division III's best attackman. Nally was the recipient of the Fran McCall Award honoring Division III's best midfielder and
Eli Salama (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best) and
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) received the Long-Pole and Face-Off Awards, respectively.
RIT had 11 players selected to the All-Liberty League squad, while head coach
Jake Coon and his coaching staff were named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Killen was the Offensive Player of the Year and a first team selection, while Salama earned first team accolades and was named Defensive Player of the Year. Nally, Tackett, Farrell, Maruna and
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) joined Killen and Salama on the first team. Milburn,
Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) and
Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) were second team selections, and Tandy was an honorable mention selection.
RIT excelled in the classroom as 10 Tigers were named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team.
Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division III Men's At-Large Team, while Milburn and Tackett were selected USILA Scholar All-Americans.
RIT was the third-highest scoring team in all of Division III, averaging 17.77 goals per game. The Tigers led Division III in assists for the second straight season in 2018, finishing with 275 helpers. RIT featured the best man-up unit in Division III, converting 57.3 (47-for-82) percent of its chances.
The Tigers featured 11 players with 20 or more points, five players with at least 50 points, and seven players with 20 or more goals on the season. Killen set the single-season record with 86 goals in 2018, breaking the previous record of 69. His 103 points is third-most in a season at the university.
Once again RIT played one of the more difficult schedules in 2018, with 12 games versus teams ranked in the USILA Division III Coaches poll. The Tigers opened the season with a 12-7 win over 2018 NCAA Tournament participant Ohio Wesleyan in February.
RIT returned home March 10 to beat Clarkson 18-7 in its Liberty League opener. For the fourth consecutive season RIT spent its Spring Break playing games at the Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson University. The Tigers went 2-0 in Maryland, with wins over No. 19 Lynchburg College, and No. 10 Amherst College.
The Tigers rattled off three straight wins over ranked opponents in early April, beating No. 15 Cortland, No. 20 Rensselaer and No. 15 Ithaca College. The Tigers closed out the regular season with wins over Skidmore, No. 18 St. Lawrence and Union College to claim their seventh straight Liberty League regular season title. After a first round bye, the top-seeded Tigers beat St. Lawrence 13-11 in the semifinals and clinched its seventh straight Liberty League Tournament title with a 23-3 win over Ithaca in the title game. Killen tallied four goals in the title game, earning Tournament MVP.
RIT rolled through the first three games of the NCAA Tournament, winning by a combined score of 55-19, including a 12-7 win over No. 2 York College in the national quarterfinals. Despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback, RIT lost 19-18 to Wesleyan University in the semifinals.
Killen,
Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) and
Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) along with
Brendan MacDonald (Georgetown, Ontario/Trinity-Pawling) formed one of the more potent attack units in Division III. This quartet combined to score 239 points in 2018. Killen led RIT with 103 points, including a single-season record 86 goals. Killen tallied a single-season record 21 man-up goals, and finished his career tied for 19th all time in scoring with 158 career points in just two seasons. Tandy had a breakout season in 2018, finishing tied for second in scoring with 63 points. He was second on the team with 37 goals, tallying a career-best nine points on five goals and nine assists versus New England College in the NCAA Tournament. Commandant was fifth on the team in scoring with 47 points, tallying 30 goals. MacDonald chipped in 17 goals and 26 points, while
Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa),
Andrew Doktor (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) and
Adam Wolf (Oakville, Ontario/Everest Academy) contributed to the attack's success.
Jay Vakiener (Fairport, NY/Fairport) along with Nally, Milburn, Isaac,
Beau Riley (Homer, NY/Homer) and
Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) helped lead a talented midfield unit in 2018. Nally finished tied for second in scoring with 63 points and was second on the team with 33 assists. He tallied at least one points in all 22 games, including a season-high seven points at Rensselaer April 7. Milburn finished 36 goals and 52 points, while Vakiener scored 18 goals and tallied 34 points. Barnable finished with 55 points, including a team-best 36 assists. Isaac was sixth in scoring with career highs in points (35), and goals (25). Riley finished with a career-high 34 points on 15 goals and 19 assists in 2018.
Tackett led a talented defensive midfield corps, tallying 11 points on seven goals and four assists. He was fourth on the team with 20 caused turnovers and was third with 67 ground balls. Senior
Zach Ursu (Mono, Ontario/The Kiski School) had 38 ground balls and tallied three goals and eight assists, while
Julien Guay (Oakville, Ontario/The Hill Academy) played a big role at defensive midfield, scooping up 18 ground balls, causing four turnovers and scoring five goals.
Nate Farrell (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was among the best at the face-off "X" in 2018, finishing 12th in Division III winning 68.2 (240-of-352) percent of his draws. His 240 wins was fourth-best in program history, while he led the Tigers with 115 ground balls. Sophomore
Jimmy Spillane (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) won 131 draws in 2018 and had 52 ground balls.
On defense Maruna, co-captain
Joey Menecola (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power Catholic) and Smyth saw the majority of the minutes on close defense. This group helped the Tigers defense hold opponents to 8.41 goals per game in 2018. Maruna started all 22 games causing 23 turnovers and grabbing 29 ground balls. Smyth, an All-Liberty League honorable mention selection, played in 17 games causing 15 turnovers and grabbing 42 ground balls. Menecola had 27 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. Junior
Matt Streit (Penfield, NY/Webster Schroeder) and sophomore
Patrick Shoemay (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross) provided depth at defense.
Salama was the second straight Tiger to be named Liberty League Defensive Player of Year, joining
JD Hall (Centennial, CO/Arapahoe) who won the award in 2017. He joins former RIT great
Matt Hossack (Port Perry, Ontario/Port Perry) to win the USILA Long-Pole Award. Salama led the Tigers with 29 caused turnovers, scooping up 51 ground balls, tallying 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. He was a two-time Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week April 9 and Mat 7. Junior
Matt Pogue (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Paul Secondary) had a breakout season in 2018 finishing second on the team with 77 ground balls and was third with 22 caused turnovers. He won seven face-offs and chipped in 14 points on six goals and eight assists.
In net, Hare saw the majority of the action, finishing with a 21-1 record in 23 games. His 21 wins tied a single-season mark, also held by Pat Johnston. In addition, he is seventh all-time with a career goals against average of 8.29. He earned Defensive Performer of the Week honors Feb. 19 and Feb. 26.
Holden McDonald (Toronto, Ontatrio/St. Mary Catholic) played in 11 games, making 39 saves, while newcomer
Drew Hutchison (Otonabee, Ontario/The Hill Academy) saw limited action, appearing in five games and making 11 saves.
RIT graduated 10 seniors but return a host of young talent for 2019. The Tigers are motivated and determined to continue the quest for a national championship.
