ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 1 RIT (20-1) men's lacrosse team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship with a thrilling 10-9 win over No. 12 Union College (14-4) in the third round Saturday evening from RIT's Turf Field. The Tigers will host No. 5 Williams College in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 15 at a time to be determined.

RIT took a 10-4 lead with 8:05 left remaining in the third quarter on a goal by Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas). Union would hold RIT scoreless the rest of the way and had a chance to send the game into overtime with a possession in RIT's end with 16 seconds left. RIT senior defender Chandler Allen (Ilderon, Ontario/Medway) caused a turnover down low with seven seconds left and was able to clear the ball to the midfield as time ran out, allowing the Tigers to hang on and advance.

RIT held a slight 34-33 shot advantage, while winning the ground ball battle, 33-22. The Tigers won 14-of-23 face-offs and cleared the ball 15-of-17 times. Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) led RIT with three goals, while Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid), Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and Spencer Bell (Fairport, NY/Fairport) each scored two goals. Nally also added two assists for a four-point night.

Allen led a stout RIT defensive effort with three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) improved to 20-1 in net this season, making nine saves. Nick Montemorano (Victor, NY/Victor) won 14 draws and had seven ground balls. Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) and Matt Pogue (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Paul Secondary) each caused two turnovers.

"Union is a good team, we knew were in for a tough game tonight and fortunately, we came out on top," said RIT head coach Jake Coon. "I am proud of how resilient we were, especially in the second half when we did not play our best. It shows the heart of this team."

Hayden Frye led Union with two goals, while Michael Sands tallied a goal and an assist. Jack Santilli took the loss in net for the Dutchmen, making 11 saves.

RIT led 3-1 after the first quarter and were up 8-3 at halftime. Barnable and Damon Currie (Guelph, Ontario/The Hill Academy) gave the Tigers an early 2-0 lead on two straight goals by the Tigers. After a Jack Donahue goal cut the RIT lead to 2-1, Nally scored off a feed from Ryan Tandy (Montrose, NY/Hendrick-Hudson) with 4:55 to play in the opening quarter to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

RIT scored the first three goals of the second quarter, opening up a 6-1 lead on the second of consecutive goals by Bell, this one off an assist from Nally with 9:50 to play in the first half. Union answered with a pair of goals, cutting the RIT lead to 6-3 on a Frey goal with 2:51 to play. Barnable and Nally scored late goals for the Tigers to give RIT an 8-3 halftime lead.

Barnable gave the Tigers a 9-3 lead on his goal to open the second-half scoring. After a Union goal cut the RIT lead to 9-4, Isaac tallied RIT's final goal of the game with 8:05 to play in the third quarter, scoring off the "hidden-ball" trick.

The Dutchmen closed the third quarter tallying two straight goals, cutting the RIT lead to 10-6 on a James Diver goal with two seconds remaining. Union scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter, cutting the RIT lead to 10-9 on a Jack Kaufman goal with 2:15 to play in regulation.

RIT is 23-3 all-time versus Union, including a 3-0 record over the Dutchmen in 2019, all in a span of 17 days. The Tigers won 12-9 at Union on April 24 and 14-6 in the Liberty League Championship from RIT's Turf Field on May 4. RIT is now 3-0 all-time against Union in the NCAA Tournament. The last meeting in the national tournament was also a 10-9 win for RIT in 2015.

RIT surpassed 350 goals on the season (354) for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Tigers have reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in the last six seasons and is a remarkable 120-9 over that stretch. RIT has advanced to the national quarterfinals for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.
 
RIT is now 23-9 in NCAA Tournament play under Coach Coon and 29-20 all-time in the national tournament. This is RIT's 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 21st trip overall.

RIT and Williams will meet for the second time in program history Wednesday. RIT defeated Williams, 15-10 at Johns Hopkins University on March 28, 2014.