NCAA Tournament Page

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The #17 Union College men's lacrosse team has earned an at-large berth into the 2023 NCAA Div. III Championship and will be hosting second- and third-round action on Saturday, May 13 and Sunday, May 14 at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
GAME DETAILS: Union College will take on Western New England University in Saturday's second game at 3:00 p.m., following the opening game that will pit #5/4 Middlebury College against St. Mary's College of Maryland beginning at noon. Sunday's third-round game is scheduled for 3 p.m. between the winners of Saturday's two contests.
 
Single-day ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for Union students with ID and children under 12.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Union will provide a free live video stream for all games in Schenectady this weekend and live stats for all games will also be available. Fans can also follow all the action via social media by following Union Men's Lacrosse on Twitter.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Union is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and third in the last four seasons. Union is 11-6 all-time in the NCAAs, including a perfect 8-0 record at Frank Bailey Field, and has won at least one game in all six previous appearances. Union has reached the quarterfinals three times, winning first- and second-round games in 2012 and 2014 and winning second- and third-round games last season. Union continued its historic run all the way to the national championship game last year, winning quarterfinal and semifinal games for the first time in program history before falling in the national championship game.
 
LEVELS OF FAMILIARITY: Union has very varied levels of familiarity with this weekend's possible opponents. Union and Middlebury played earlier this season in Austin, Texas, and have faced off 54 times since their first meeting in 1950, with the Panthers leading the series, 35-19. Western New England leads the all-time series 5-3, but Union knocked off the Golden Bears 21-11 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament last year in their first meeting since 2007. Union and St. Mary's, meanwhile, have not met since the early 1980s, with the Seawolves earning victories in 1980 and 1982.
 
HOW UNION GOT HERE: Union (11-6, 4-3 Liberty League) is one of two teams from this pod to receive Pool C bids into the NCAA Tournament after falling to #3 Rochester Institute of Technology in the Liberty League championship game on Sunday. Despite having six losses on the year, Union was rewarded for its .657 strength of schedule, which ranked fourth in Division III behind Christopher Newport, Salisbury and Dickinson, as well as its Division III-best 11 games against regionally ranked opponents.
 
UNION IN THE POLLS: Union has been ranked in every national poll this season, having been ranked as high as fifth in both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse rankings. Union has been nationally ranked by the USILA in every week during the four-year tenure of head coach Derek Witheford '11 and every week overall since April 12, 2019. Only six teams (Cabrini, Gettysburg, RIT, Salisbury, Tufts and York) have a longer current stretch of consecutive national rankings than Union.
 
THEY'D BE HONORED: Union had six players named to the All-Liberty League teams, announced on Tuesday. Senior Jake Titus and junior Zach Davis were named to the All-Conference first team, followed by a quartet of second-teamers: senior Clint Gourdeau and juniors Dan Donahue, Peter Kip and Matthew Paolatto.
   
X MARKS THE SPOT: Junior Matthew Paolatto has been one of the nation's top faceoff men all season long, currently leading the Liberty League and ranking 16th in Division III by winning 67.2 percent (211 of 329) of his draws. He also ranks third in the Liberty League in ground balls (137) and 44th in Division III in ground balls per game (8.06). Combined with sophomore Luke McHugh (36 of 66) and first-year Luke Tranter (7 of 11), Union sits 11th in the country with a 65.0 percent success rate at the X.
 
SAVING THE DAY: Junior goalie Dan Donahue has continued to be one of the nation's top goalies this season. The netminder leads the Liberty League and ranks 15th in Division III in save percentage (.608), and also leads the conference in saves per game (13.88). In addition, the junior ranks second in the conference and 30th in the nation in goals against average (9.19).
 
BIG FUNDAMENTALS: With multiple injuries affecting the team's offensive consistency, Union has once again relied on its defense. Union leads the Liberty League and ranks 38th in Division III by allowing 9.35 goals per game. The team also is at its best when it keeps care of the ball, as the squad ranks second in the conference and ranks 18th in the nation by averaging only 16.9 turnovers per game.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS: Western New England (12-8, 7-1 CCC) was crowned champions of the Commonwealth Coast Conference for the 10th time and earned the program's 12th NCAA Tournament berth with an 18-9 win over Endicott College on Saturday.
 
The WNE offense is led by Dylan Hanley, who has shattered the school single-season records for assists and points this season with 48 goals and 68 assists for 116 points in 20 games. Hanley enters the week sixth in Division III in assists per game and 13th in points per game. Jack Houlden paces the team with 57 goals, and Mike Bannon ranks second on the team in points with 41 goals and 32 assists. In goal, Carter Randall has taken over the starting role and boasts a team-best 9.20 goals against average and .562 save percentage to go with an 11-1 record.
 
ABOUT THE PANTHERS: Middlebury (16-2, 9-1 NESCAC) earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after falling to #1 Tufts University 19-6 in the NESCAC championship game on Sunday. The Panthers are making their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016, and have three national titles (2000, 2001, 2002) to their credit.
 
On the offensive side of the field, All-NESCAC honoree Russell Thorndike and William Ryan are tied for the team lead with 39 goals apiece this season for Middlebury, while Billy Curtis leads the team in points thanks to his 23 goals and team-best 38 assists. All-NESCAC midfielder Tom Conley has chipped in 22 goals and 16 assists as well. Defensively, Luke Simpson paces the unit with 40 caused turnovers, ranking 44th in Division III in CTs per game. Hayden Kern has started all 18 games in goal for the Panthers, posting an 11.35 goals against average and .506 save percentage. As a team, Middlebury, ranks fourth in D-III by clearing at a 90.0 percent clip and limits opponents to a 72.8 percent success rate.
 
ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES: St. Mary's (15-5, 5-0 United East) swept through the United East Conference regular season and tournament on the way to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history, defeating SUNY Morrisville 17-10 in the United East final on Saturday. The team then made their way to Schenectady after a 10-5 victory over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday, the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
 
The Seawolves are outscoring their opponents by an average of 8.6 goals per game this season, with the offense led by United East Offensive Player of the Year Keegan Preis, who has scored 20 goals and ranks fifth in D-III with 65 assists. Conference Rookie of the Year Joshua Martel is the team's leading scorer with 42 goals on the year, including 15 man-up tallies that puts him third in the country, followed by Walter Krizman with 39. Defensively, Ethan Little was named United East Defensive Player of the Year after causing 38 turnovers with 68 ground balls in 20 games, while Ben Robertson is 14-5 with a 8.79 goals against average and .478 save percentage in goal. St. Mary's also ranks ninth in D-III by winning 65.1 percent of its faceoffs, led by Mitch Boudreau (255-391) and Matteo Ciccarello (113-170).
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of this weekend's pod will advance to the quarterfinal round on May 20. The national semifinals follow at the same site on May 21, and the Division III national championship game is set for Sunday, May 28 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The full bracket can be viewed here.