ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT senior Larson Sundown (Basom, NY/Akron) tallied three goals and three assists, while seniors Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) and Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa) each totaled three goals and an assist to lead the Tigers to an 11-9 victory over Union in the semifinals of the Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Tournament, Wednesday afternoon.
 
Shots were 41-35 in favor of RIT, winning the ground ball battle 24-22. The Tigers won 15-of-22 face-offs, were 4-for-6 on man-up, and went 17-of-20 on clearing attempts.

Junior Spencer Bell (Fairport, NY/Fairport) tallied a goal and two assists while senior Nick Montemorano (Victor, NY/Victor) won 15-of-22 draws, had nine ground balls and tallied a goal for RIT. Senior goalie Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) compiled nine saves in net for the Tigers,

Hayden Frey led Union with two goals and two assists. Keaton McCann finished with two goals and an assist, while Brian Davis finished with a goal and an assist. Dan Donahue took the loss in net for the Dutchmen, making 14 saves.

Despite tallying the first goal of the game, the Tigers found themselves down 3-1 after the first 15 minutes of action. Commandant re-directed a pass from Marley Angus (Oakville, Ontario/Holy Trinity) 50 seconds into the game to give the Tigers an early lead. Quinn Helmig tied the game on his goal, and Aidan Flood gave Union its first lead. Frey scored with two seconds to play in the quarter, giving the Dutchmen a two-goal advantage.

RIT came storming back with five-straight goals to begin the second quarter. Sundown tied the game at 3-3 with back-to-back tallies before Tait and Commandant each cashed in Sundown feeds to give RIT a 6-3 lead. Brian Davis scored for the Dutchmen late in the quarter to cut the RIT lead to 6-4 at halftime.
 
Union outscored the Tigers 4-1 in the third quarter. Bell tallied a man-up goal off an assist from Tait to open the third-quarter scoring, but the Dutchmen ran off four straight goals, taking an 8-7 lead on McCann's goal with :04 seconds to play in the quarter. With time running out, Ryan Puglisi flung a clearing pass from Union's end of the field towards the RIT net that McCann caught and fired, beating Hare.

Sundown scored the first of two straight RIT goals to begin the fourth quarter. Tait gave the Tigers a 9-8 lead on his goal off an assist from Bell. Frey tied the game at 9-9 on his goal with 7:21 remaining.

With four minutes to play, Union's McCann was 1-v-1 with Hare in front of the RIT net after a failed Tigers clear. Hare stayed big, forcing McCann to hit his shot off the cross-bar.

Senior defensive midfielder Pent Eistrat (Toronto, Ontario/Humberside Collegiate) scooped up the loose ball and cleared the ball for RIT. Sundown found Tait who converted for his third goal of the game that gave the Tigers a 10-9 lead. Commandant scored off a sweet one-handed feed from Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) to make it an 11-9 final score.
 
The top-seeded Tigers will host second-seeded St. Lawrence in the Liberty League title game this Saturday afternoon at RIT's Turf Field. RIT is vying for its ninth straight Liberty League championship and 11th-straight conference championship overall dating back to back-to-back Empire 8 titles in 2010 and 2011.