CANTON, N.Y. – RIT first year faceoff specialist
Philip Minardo scored the game-winning goal to lead the No. 3 Tigers to an 11-9 come-from-behind win at No. 2 St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Semifinal, Friday.
Trailing 9-8 late in the fourth quarter, RIT scored four goals inside the final three minutes of regulation to advance to the Liberty League Championship for the 13th time.
Sophomore attack
Ryan Sanders led RIT with four goals. Senior attacker
Tyson Allison tallied two goals and two assists, junior midfielder
David Charney tallied two goals and an assist and first year midfielder
Evan Lyon finished with a goal and an assist.
Minardo won 10-of-16 faceoffs and led the Tigers with seven ground balls. Senior defenseman
Alexander Chairs grabbed four ground balls and caused two turnovers and senior defensive midfielder
Cole Teeple caused three turnovers. Senior goalie
Alex Zborowski made nine saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Ted Wilson scored early in the first quarter to give St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead.
- Dan Anderson gave the Saints a 2-0 lead on his goal with 4:34 remaining in the opening frame.
- Sanders scored off an assist from sophomore midfielder James Corry followed by a goal from Charney to tie the score 2-2.
- Allison gave RIT a 3-2 lead on his goal off an assist from Lyon with eight seconds to play in the opening quarter.
- Jamie Rosenzweig scored a goal and had two assists in St. Lawrence's five-goal run to take a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.
- Allison scored his second goal of the first half with two seconds remaining in the second quarter to cut the Saints' lead to 7-4.
- Sanders scored early in the third quarter to cut St. Lawrence's lead to 7-5.
- Lyon scored with 8:50 remaining in the third to make it a one goal game.
- Wilson and Anderson scored back-to-back goals to give the Saints a 9-6 lead.
- Charney scored off an assist from Allison with 36 seconds to play in the quarter that cut the Saints' lead to 9-7.
- Sanders scored a man-up goal with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to cut St. Lawrence's lead to 9-8.
- Sanders tied the game 9-9 on his goal off an assist from Allison with 54 seconds to play.
- Minardo won the ensuing face-off. He scooped up the ground ball and drove to the net, scoring with 48 seconds to play to give RIT a 10-9 lead.
- Sophomore midfielder Ryan Bullock broke the double-team inside the Saints' restraining box and scored with 13 seconds to play to make it an 11-9 final.
GAME NOTES:
- RIT outshot St. Lawrence 45-31, including 30 on goal.
- The Tigers went 20-of-22 on clearing attempts and won 13-of-24 face-offs.
- RIT went 1-for-1 on man-up and had 31 ground balls.
- RIT is vying for its 13th Liberty League title. The Tigers won 11 straight conference championships from 2012-2023 and again in 2025.
WHAT'S NEXT:
RIT returns to action on Sunday (May 3) against No. 4 Union in the Liberty League Championship at 1:00 p.m.
