Men’s Lacrosse to play Middlebury in NCAA Quarterfinals
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The two-time national champion RIT men’s lacrosse team will play Middlebury in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday (May 20) at Tufts.
RIT, ranked third in the final USILA Coaches Poll, will take on No. 5 Middlebury at 5:00 p.m. after Tufts and Lynchburg square off at 2:00 p.m. The two winners will meet on Sunday in the semifinals.
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RIT advanced to the quarterfinals with a 20-9 win over Babson in last Sunday’s third round game. Sophomore Clifford Gaston tallied three goals and two assists, while graduate student goalie Will Sterrett made 11 saves to earn the win.
RIT is making its 13th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 25th overall. The Tigers are 40-21 in tournament games, including a 34-10 mark since 2010. RIT has reached the quarterfinals 15 times, 12 national semifinals and four national championship games, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.
RIT is 16th in Division III averaging 16.81 goals per game. The Tigers are third in the country in man-up scoring, converting 54.8 percent (34-of-62) of their chances, and sixth with 223 assists and 576 points.
Senior Luke Pilcher leads RIT with 87 points on a team-best 60 goals and 27 assists, and is tied for eighth in Division III with 12 man-up goals. Gaston is second in scoring with 64 points on 48 goals and 16 assists, and senior John Mozrall is third with 63 points and leads the Tigers with 43 assists.
RIT allows 9.71 goals per game, causing 10.9 turnovers per contest. RIT is third nationally, clearing the ball 90.6 percent (464-of-512) of the time, and fourth in the country with 878 ground balls. The Tigers have killed off 61-of-84 man-up chances (72.6%) and won 53.0 percent (335-of-632) of their face-offs.
Sterrett is 13-0 with an 8.37 goals against average and a .563 save percentage. Jensen leads the team with 73 ground balls and 38 caused turnovers. Junior Michael Grace is second with 34 caused turnovers and third on the team with 60 ground balls.
Senior face-off specialist Ethan Stiles has won 54.9 percent (129-of-235) of his draws, while junior Nick Farrell is 52.2 percent from the face-off “X”, and is second on the team with 67 ground balls.
Middlebury defeated Union 19-10 to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. Senior Jack Sheehan and first-year Cooper DeMallie each scored three goals, while sophomore Patrick Jamin tallied two goals and had three assists. The Panthers led 9-6 at halftime and outscored Union 10-4 in the second half. First-year goalie Hayden Kern made five saves in net to earn the win.
The Panthers average 14.6 goals per game, outscoring their opponents 292-218. Middlebury is 21st in Division III, converting 30-of-69 (43.5%) on man-up and tied for 19th in assists (180) and 23rd in points (472). Sophomore Billy Curits leads Middlebury with 66 points on 25 goals and a team-best 41 assists. Sophomore Russell Thorndike is second with 65 points and leads the Panthers with 44 goals. Senior William Ryan is third with 55 points (43g, 12a) and Jamin is fourth with 50 points (16g, 34a).
Middlebury allows 10.9 goals per game and killed off 51-of-69 (73.9%) of its penalties. Kern is 18-2 with a 10.86 goals against average and a .507 save percentage. Senior Luke Simpson leads the Panthers with 44 caused turnovers and is second with 71 ground balls. First-year Drew Dummer is second on the team with 20 caused turnovers, while Kern and sophomore Teddy Curran each have 17. Sophomore William McCarthy is 213-of-438 (48.6%) on face-offs and leads the team with 106 ground balls.
RIT is 3-2 all-time against Middlebury. The Tigers beat the Panthers, 28-12 at Syracuse in 2017. Middlebury beat the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2000.
