Men's Lacrosse | 5/2/2011 2:12:19 PM

ROCHESTER, NY -- Junior attack Tyler Russell (Livonia, NY/Livonia) of the RIT men's lacrosse team was named the Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week on Monday for the week ending May 1, 2011. It is Russell's first weekly honor of the season.

Russell helped RIT close out the regular season undefeated last week, scoring 10 goals. He scored a career-high seven goals in a 25-8 win over Utica on Wednesday. He added three more goals in a 13-5 win over cross-town rival Nazareth in the regular season finale on Saturday. The junior attack leads the team in scoring (55 points) and goals (52 goals). The 52 goals this season places Russell sixth all-time at RIT for goals in a season.

RIT, ranked second nationally can earn its second consecutive and 13th overall berth to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Empire 8 Championship this weekend. RIT (15-0), the top-seed, will host Ithaca on Friday at 4 p.m.  If RIT wins on Friday, they will host the winner of Stevens vs. Nazareth on Sunday at 12 p.m.