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ROCHESTER, NY -- The No. 14 ranked RIT men's lacrosse team will face No. 10 Connecticut College in the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Saturday, May 15, at 1 p.m. in New London, Connecticut on the artificial turf at Silfen Field. It is the 12th time the Tigers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament and the first appearance since 2006. There will be no live stats or radio for the contest.
The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Tournament with an automatic berth after winning the Empire 8 Tournament on Sunday. RIT, 13-5 on the season, defeated Ithaca College 9-6 in the championship game. The Tigers come into the tournament having won six straight games, having outscored its foes 83-42 over that stretch.
RIT is 6-11 all-time in its previous 11 NCAA Appearances, making the national semifinals in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1999.
Senior
Sean Gillies (Oakville, Ontario/Albany Academy) leads a balanced RIT offensive attack with 46 goals and 55 points. Junior
Kelso Davis (Freeport, ME/Deerfield Academy) is right behind with 52 points (35-17-52). RIT is receiving balanced scoring, as four players have at least 44 points and 11 are in double figures. Ten Tigers have at least 10 goals.
Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity), the 2010 Empire 8 co-Player of the Year, has 49 points (33-16-49) in just 14 games, while
Iric Bressler (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) leads the squad with 29 assists.
Jerry Ragonese (Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston) is winning 60.9 percent (237-for-389) of his face-offs and has 134 ground balls, both of which are among the national leaders. Senior defenders
Dan MacRae (Oakville, Ontario/Holy Trinity) and
MJ Kiekebelt (Caledon, Ontario/St. Andrews College/Aurora) lead the way with 47 and 45 caused turnovers respectively. In net,
Robert Tonnessen (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) has enjoyed a tremendous season, with an 11-3 record, 7.54 goals against average, and .569 save percentage.
RIT is just two wins away from tying its single-season record of 15, set in 2006. RIT is averaging 13.61 goals per contest and allowing just 8.48 goals per game. The Tigers need 28 goals to set the single-season record for goals in a season.
Connecticut College earned an at-large berth and comes into the tournament with a 14-2 record. The Camels finished 8-1 in NESCAC play, winning the 2010 regular season title. Connecticut College, the top-seed, was defeated by eighth-seeded Wesleyan, 6-5 in the NESCAC Tournament quarterfinals and have lost two of their last three games after a 13-0 start.
The Camels are 7-1 on the Artificial Turf at Silfen Field. Connecticut College is 18th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.86 goals per game, while the Tigers are the 14th best offense in Division III, averaging 13.61 goals per contest. The Tigers have outscored their foes by an average of 5.17 goals per game this season, while the Camels have outscored its opponents by 3.38 goals per contest.
Steve Dachille leads the squad with 44 goals and 48 points. Juniors Eric Doran (23 goals, nine assists) and Ryan Hayes (20 goals, 12 assists) have contributed 32 points each. Mark Mangano has dished out a team-high 15 assists to go with 13 goals for 28 points. Chuck Czerkawski has won 63% of his face-offs (125-for-200) and leads the club with 63 ground balls. Sophomore net-minder Rob Moccia is ranked second in both NESCAC goals against average (6.99 GAA) and save percentage (.630).
If the Tigers win on Saturday, they will face the winner of the SUNY Cortland/Keene State game on Wednesday, May 19. Cortland and Keene State play on Saturday in Cortland at 1 p.m.