SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – For the third time in the last 17 days, the #12 Union College men's lacrosse team will get a shot at the top-ranked team in the country, as the Dutchmen head to #1 Rochester Institute of Technology for the third round of the 2019 NCAA Div. III Championship on Saturday, May 11.
GAME DETAILS: 7:00 p.m. – RIT Turf Field. Ticket prices are $8 for adults, $4 for students with ID and seniors.
LIVE COVERAGE: RIT will provide a free live video stream of the game at
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mxbMUqDCvrV and live stats will also be available at
http://www.sidearmstats.com/rit/mlax. Fans can also follow all the action via social media on
Twitter!
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Union (14-3) remained unbeaten in NCAA Tournament games at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium with a 12-7 victory over SUNY Cortland on Wednesday. Sophomore
Keaton McCann led all players with four goals, while senior
Jack Santilli made eight saves to lead a strong defensive effort. RIT (19-1) extended its winning streak to 14 games with a 20-5 victory over John Carroll University on Wednesday behind three goals and an assist from junior Dawson Tait.
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of #5 Williams College and #18 St. John Fisher College in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, May 15. The full bracket can be viewed
here.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Union is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2015 season. Union is 7-4 all-time in the NCAAs, including a perfect 6-0 record at Frank Bailey Field, and has won at least one game in all five NCAA appearances. Union is bidding for its third quarterfinal appearance, having previously won first and second games in 2012 and 2014.
THIRD TIME'S THIRD TIME'S A CHARM?: This will be the third time in the last six years that Union will play RIT three times in the same season. In the team's last two NCAA Tournament seasons (2014 and 2015), the Dutchmen fell to the top-ranked Tigers in the regular season, Liberty League Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
WINS ON WINS: This year's team is already tied for the second-most wins in a single season in school history, matching the 2015 team that went 14-5. Only the 2014 squad that posted a 15-4 record has more wins than the 2019 edition.
THE BIGGEST WINNER: With his 14th victory of the season on Wednesday, senior
Jack Santilli broke a tie with former All-Americans
Sean Aaron '12 and
Stefan Basile '15 to become the school's single-season wins leader. The senior is 17-4 in 21 career starts as a Dutchman and boasts a career 8.40 goals against average and .585 save percentage in 37 games.
ROAD TO 100: Junior
Kerry Lyne scored once on Wednesday against Cortland, giving him a team-leading 36 goals this season and 99 for his three-year career. With one more goal, Lyne would be the first Dutchman to reach the century mark since
Ted McKenna '12 scored 105 times in four years from 2009-12.
SOPHOMORE SUCCESS: McCann and classmate
Hayden Frey have both reached the 30-goal plateau as well for Union this year, marking the first time in school history that three players have scored 30 or more goals in a season. McCann is the only Dutchman to score at least once in every game this season and also leads the team with 11 multi-goal outings in 2019.
DEFENSIVE MINDED: The Dutchmen enter the week 18th in Division III by allowing only 8.00 goals per game. Santilli ranks 10th in the country with a 7.73 goals against average and is 18th with a .596 save percentage as well. Junior
Edward Winters leads a stout defensive unit with a 46 ground balls and a team-best 33 caused turnovers.
X MARKS THE SPOT: Senior
Alex Newhouse enters the weekend 54th in D-III by winning over 60 percent of his faceoffs this season and has grabbed a team-best 81 ground balls. The senior has won at least 50 percent of his draws in eight of the last 10 games, including a 21-of-25 effort against Ithaca and a pair of 15-of-19 games against RPI.
ABOUT THE TIGERS: The Tigers rank 10th in Division III by averaging 17.20 goals per game, thanks to a man-up offense that is fifth in the country by scoring at a 50.6 percent clip. Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year Shawn Nally leads the team with 42 goals and 31 assists for 73 points, while Walker Hare is third in Division III in save percentage (.623) and 14th in goals against average (8.01). Nick Montemorano leads the team at the faceoff X, winning 61.6 percent of his draws to rank 48th nationally.
