ROCHESTER, NY – The top-ranked RIT (20-1) men's lacrosse team will host No. 5 Williams College (17-3) in the Quarterfinal of the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 at RIT's Turf Field.
The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals with a 10-9 win over Union College in Saturday's third round, while Williams defeated St. John Fisher College 17-12. RIT is making its tenth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 21st overall, while the Ephs are making their second appearance in the tournament, the first coming back in 2008.
Saturday, RIT led 8-3 at halftime, and 10-4 early in the third quarter before holding off a Union comeback for the 10-9 win.
Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) led RIT with three goals.
Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) led the Tigers with three caused turnovers, while
Chandler Allen (Ilderon, Ontario/Medway) and
Matt Pogue (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Paul Secondary) each caused two turnovers.
Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) got the win in net, making nine saves.
RIT enters Wednesday 13th in Division III in scoring, averaging 16.86 goals per game. The Tiger second in the country with 230 assists and are eighth, converting 48.2 percent (40-of-83) of their man-up chances.
RIT features 15 players with 10 or more points and 11 student-athletes with at least 10 goals, including three 40-goal scorers.
Shawn Nally (Rochester, NY/McQuaid), the 2019 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, leads RIT in scoring with 77 points on 44 goals and 33 assists, all career-highs. Barnable is second in scoring with 42 goals and 73 points, while
Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa), the 2019 Liberty League Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is third with 68 points.
Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) is fourth in scoring with 58 points and is third on the team with 41 goals.
Defensively, RIT is 14th in Division III, allowing 7.76 goals per contest. The Tigers lead Division III with 942 ground balls, averaging 44.86 per game. RIT has won 61.6 percent of its face-offs, caused 226 turnovers, and allowed 22 man-up goals in 83 chances.
Hare is 20-1 in net this season and enters Wednesday third in Division III with a .617 save percentage, and is 14th nationally with an 8.01 goals against average.
Nick Montemorano (Victor, NY/Victor) has won 223-of-360 (61.9%) of his face-offs this season and leads the team with 95 ground balls.
Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School), the 2019 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Tigers with 38 caused turnovers, while Allen is right behind with 37 caused turnovers.
Williams jumped out to a 7-1 halftime lead Saturday and held odd a Fisher rally for the 17-12 win. Cory Lund and Kevin Stump each scored five goals for the Ephs, while Brendan Hoffman tallied three goals. Harry Gahagan got the win in net for Williams, making nine saves.
Williams enters Saturday averaging 15.20 goals per game. The Ephs are tied for 12th in Division III with 188 assists, and have out-scored their opponents 304-207 this season. Williams enters Wednesday converting 28-of-84 (33.3%) of its man-up chances.
Jake Haase leads the team in scoring with 93 points on 31 goals and 62 assists. He is seventh in the country, averaging 3.10 assists per game. Lund is second in scoring with 88 points and leads the team with 63 goals. Stump is third in scoring with 77 points, while Hoffman is fourth in scoring with 70 points and leads the Ephs with 10 man-up tallies.
Defensively, Williams enters Wednesday's game allowing 10.33 goals per contest. The Ephs have allowed 10 or fewer goals nine times, including 21 man-up goals.
Gahagan enters Wednesday with a 17-3 record in 2019 with a 10.07 goals against average and a .534 save percentage. Rock Stewart leads the Ephs with 36 caused turnovers, while Alex Kitt has won 248 face-offs this season and leads Williams with 132 ground balls.
Wednesday will the second all-time meeting between RIT and Williams. The Tigers beat the Ephs 15-10 in 2014 at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.
The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will advance to the national semifinals and will play the winner between No. 3 Tufts University and No. 7 Amherst College on Sunday, May 19.
