NCAA Tournament Bracket

SCHENECTADY, NY – The Union College men's lacrosse team made its NCAA Tournament debut in style, winning at Nazareth, 15-7, in a first round contest on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory, the Dutchmen (13-4, 4-2 Liberty League) set a new school record for wins in a single season.

Union will take on defending national champion Tufts (15-2, 8-2 NESCAC) in the second round on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Bello Field in Medford, Mass. Union is 5-1 in the all-time series against the Jumbos with the last meeting between the two teams taking place on March 23, 2001. In that contest Union earned an 11-4 win over Tufts in the Sun Coast Tournament in New Port Richey, Fla.

The defending national champion Jumbos won their second straight NESCAC title with a 13-12 overtime victory over Middlebury on May 8. Junior attack Sean Kirwan (57 goals, one assist), the school's single-season record holder for goals scored, notched the game-winner with 1:55 remaining in the extra frame.

The Jumbos feature a potent offense that led the NESCAC with 13.29 goals per game, a .457 man-up scoring percentage, and 24.12 shots per game. Three of the top four scorers in the NESCAC are from Tufts: Senior attack D.J. Hessler (34 goals, 46 assists) Kirwan, and senior attack Ryan Malloy (33 goals, 24 assists). Junior midfielder Nick Rhoads is the top faceoff man (212-194, .522) and leads the team with 99 ground balls. Freshman goaltender Patton Watkins has a .623 save percentange and allows 9.09 goals per game. Tufts led the NESCAC with 14.76 saves per game.

Union men's lacrosse has a rich history dating back to 1919, with 63 All-American honorees, two National Lacrosse Hall-of-Fame inductees, and a current Hall-of-Fame head coach in Paul Wehrum. In fact, former Union head coach Bruce Allison (1966-1976) was instrumental in the creation of the Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.