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a men's lacrosse player about to pass the ball with a defender covering him
RIT Athletics / Mikaela Engstrom
15
CNU CNU 16-6
19
Winner RIT RIT 20-2
CNU CNU
16-6
15
Final
19
RIT RIT
20-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
CNU CNU 7 3 4 1 15
RIT RIT 3 5 7 4 19

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men's Lacrosse moves past Christopher Newport, 19-15, in NCAA Quarterfinals

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT graduate student Jake Erickson totaled eight points on four goals and four assists, while graduate student Luke Pilcher totaled seven points on four goals and three assists to lead the Tigers to a 19-15 victory over Christopher Newport in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals, Saturday, at Tiger Stadium.

Trailing, 7-3, after the first quarter, the Tigers got back within two, 10-8, at halftime before out-scoring the Captains, 11-5, the rest of the way.

RIT (20-2) advances to Sunday's semifinals to face Bowdoin with a berth in the national championship game on the line. Faceoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Christopher Newport led, 4-2, with 6:37 left in the first quarter, winning the first six faceoffs of the game.
  • Tiger graduate student John Mozrall made it a one-goal game at 5:34, but the Captains finished the quarter with three unanswered goals for a 7-3 lead.
  • RIT opened the second quarter with a three-goal run, capped by Erickson's first, to make it a one-goal game, 7-6, with 8:54 on the clock.
  • CNU answered with a tally at 7:13, outscoring RIT, 3-2, to finish the first half with a 10-8 edge.
  • RIT started the third quarter with a decisive 6-1 run, including five-consecutive goals for a 14-11 edge. Senior Dylan Bruno finished a behind-the-back pass from Pilcher in traffic at 14:26, before the Captains answered a minute later. Pilcher scored off a feed from junior Clifford Gaston at 12:21 before Erickson tied the game at 10:15. Pilcher gave the Tigers their first lead of the game 15 seconds later before Mozrall scored his third of the game for a 13-11 lead with 7:20 on the clock.
  • RIT was whistled for an unreleasable unnecessary roughness personal with 6:24 on the clock, but the Tigers fought off the ensuing Captain possession and took a 14-11 lead at 5:48 after a man-down tally in transition by senior Caiden Perry.
  • Christopher Newport took advantage of two-minute illegal body check personal on the Tigers, tallying twice to pull back within one, 14-13, with 3:52 left in the third.
  • Pilcher found senior Kaden Brunson in a crowd on the crease with 2:26 left in the third, before CNU scored at 1:32 to close the quarter.
  • RIT pulled away in the fourth with four-straight man-up goals. The Captains were whistled for an illegal body check with nine seconds left in the third, before Erickson scored on a dunk off a feed from junior Ethan Harkins at 14:41 of the fourth.
  • RIT then made CNU pay for an unreleasable illegal body check at 13:07, scoring three times in a 32-second span to open a 19-14 lead. Erickson scored off a Pilcher feed at 12:39, before Pilcher converted a Mozrall feed for his fourth of the day. Harkins finished the run off an Erickson feed at 12:07.
GAME NOTES
  • RIT advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals for the fourth-consecutive season and for the 14th time in program history.
  • RIT entered the weekend with the nation's top man-up offense, converting at a 59.4 percent rate.
  • Pilcher's third tally was his 60th of the season, marking the third-consecutive season he has eclipsed the 30-goal plateau.
  • Gaston ended the game with two assists, including his team-leading 100th point (66G/34A) of the season.
  • RIT won 1-10 first-quarter faceoffs, but went 16 of 26 the rest of the way.
  • Mozrall ended the game with six points (4G/2A), while Harkins had three (2G/1A) and Dylan Bruno had two goals.
  • RIT was ranked No. 2 in the latest USILA Division III poll, while Christopher Newport was No. 6.