OWINGS MILLS, MD -- The No. 2 RIT (5-0) men's lacrosse team beat No. 5 York College (6-1) 10-6 in a battle of top-five teams at the 2019 Mustang Classic on the campus of Stevenson University Friday. The Tigers defense held the Spartans scoreless in the fourth quarter and limited them to just three goals over the final three quarters.

Shots were 43-35 in favor of RIT, who also won the ground ball battle 39-17. The Tigers went 17-of-20 on clearing attempts, and won 12-of-20 face-offs. Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) led RIT with four goals and five points. Ryan Rosenblum (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) and Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) each tallied a goal and an assist, while Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa) handed out two assists.

Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) got the win in net, making 11 saves. Nick Montemorano (Victor, NY/Victor) won 11-of-18 draws, grabbed five ground balls and scored a goal. Patrick Shoemay (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross) caused three turnovers and grabbed four ground balls, while Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) caused three turnovers.

Thomas Pfeiffer and Dylan Wolf each scored two goals for York College, and Brad Casale added a goal and an assist. Jack Michael took the loss in net for the Spartans, making 10 saves.

York scored three straight goals to lead 3-1 after the first quarter. After Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead, the Spartans ran off a three-goal spurt, taking a 3-1 lead on Pfeiffer's goal with 3:06 to play in the quarter.

RIT stormed back, scoring the first four goals in the second quarter. Rosenblum cut the Spartans lead to 3-1 on his goal 56 seconds into the quarter. Nally tied the game on his first goal of the game, and Tandy gave the Tigers their first lead of the game with his goal off an assist from Nally with 9:45 to play in the half. Nally scored on a sweet feed from Tait to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead, and Brad Casale scored late in the half to cut the RIT lead to 5-4 at halftime.

Wolf tied the score at 5-5 for York on his goal with 3:52 to play in the third quarter. RIT would respond with three straight tallies in a span of 1:22 to take control. Nally gave the Tigers a 6-5 lead on his second goal of the game and Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) extended the RIT lead to 7-5 on his goal with 1:31 to play in the third. Montemorano scooped up his own draw and scored on the ensuing face-off to give the Tigers an 8-5 lead. Pfeiffer scored late in the frame for York to cut the RIT lead to 8-6.

The Tigers defense clamped down, holding York scoreless in the fourth quarter, while putting the game away with two insurance goals. Nally netted his fourth of the game early in the fourth quarter to extend the RIT lead to 9-6, and Cameron Gebhardt (Fairport, NY/Fairport) scored off a feed from Isaac to make it a 10-6 final.

Tonight's game was a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal, which RIT won 12-7.

RIT returns to action on Saturday, March 16 when the Tigers take on No. 4 Amherst College at 4 p.m. on day two of the Mustang Classic.RIT downed Amherst 21-16 at the Mustang Classic last season.