Men's Lacrosse | 4/30/2019 12:36:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The top-ranked RIT (16-1, 8-0 Liberty League) men's lacrosse team earned the number one seed in the 2019 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The Tigers will host fifth-seeded St. Lawrence University (ranked No. 18 in Division III) in a semifinal contest at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1 at RIT's Turf Field.
RIT won its eighth straight Liberty League regular season title by finishing 8-0 in conference play in 2019. The Tigers have won seven straight Liberty League Tournament titles and nine straight league championships dating back to RIT's days in the Empire 8 conference.
The Tigers enter Wednesday as the highest scoring team in the Liberty League and are tenth in Division III, averaging 17.24 goals per game. RIT has outscored its opponents 293-130 this season and are second nationally with 193 assists. The Tigers lead the league and are seventh in Division III, converting 49.2 percent (32-of-65) of their man-up chances. RIT is second in the league winning 61.4 percent of its face-offs.
RIT features 14 players with 10 or more points, and nine players with at least 10 or more goals. Senior
Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) leads RIT in scoring, and is third in the Liberty League with 66 points. He is second in the league with 27 assists, fourth with 39 goals, averaging 4.40 points per game.
Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) is second on the team and fifth in the Liberty League in scoring with 61 points. He is tied for second on the team with
Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) with 35 goals, and is eighth in the league, averaging 3.59 points per game. Isaac is third in scoring with 53 points, while
Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa) is fourth with 52 points on 28 goals and 24 assists.
Defensively, RIT is third in the Liberty League and 19th in Division III, allowing 7.65 goals per game. The Tigers lead the nation, averaging 45.71 ground balls per game, and are third in caused turnovers, averaging 11.12 per contest.
Nick Montemorano (Victor, NY/Victor) is third in the league, winning 61.4 percent of his draws and tenth, averaging 4.06 ground balls per game. Senior
Chandler Allen (Ilderon, Ontario/Medway) is second in the league, averaging 2.00 caused turnovers per game, while
Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) is eighth, causing 1.71 turnovers per game.
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) is 16-1 in net this season and is third in the league and 18th in Division III with an 8.06 goals against average. He is fifth in Division III with a .622 save percentage.
St. Lawrence advanced to the semifinals with a 10-4 win at No. 4 Ithaca College in the first round Saturday. Mike Donnelly and Jack Hennessey each scored three goals for the Saints, while Alex Terry got the win in net, making seven saves.
The Saints enter Wednesday tied for fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 12.00 goals per game. St. Lawrence is the top defensive team in the league and is eighth in Division III, allowing just 6.87 goals per contest. The Saints have won 54.3 percent of their face-offs and average 32.0 ground balls per game.
Donnelly leads the team and is fourth in the Liberty League with 64 points. He is third in the league with 44 goals, averaging 2.75 per contest. Hennessey is second on the team with 42 points, while Conor Caffrey is third with 36 points. Alex Terry enters Wednesday first in the Liberty League and fifth in Division III with a 6.51 goals against average.
RIT is 27-14 all time versus St. Lawrence including an 11-7 win on April 20.
Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) led RIT with three goals and four points, while
Adam Wolf (Oakville, Ontario/Everest Academy) and
Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) each scored two goals. Mahoney and Jack Suominen each scored two goals for the Saints.
RIT and St. Lawrence met in last season's Liberty League semifinal with the Tigers pulling out the 13-11 win. Tied 7-7 at halftime, the Tigers outscored the Saints 6-4 in the second half.
The winner of Wednesday's semifinal will advance to the Liberty League Championship to face the winner between No. 2 Union College and No. 3 Rensselaer. The title game will be played on Saturday, May 4 at the highest remaining seed.
