ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's lacrosse team (19-1) advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship with a 22-3 win over MIT (17-1) in the third round on Sunday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Senior Spencer Bell and junior Luke Pilcher each recorded two goals in an eight-goal first quarter for RIT.
- Senior Quinn Commandant tallied a goal and an assist in the opening period while senior Zeb Hollinger and sophomore Miles Tillman each tallied a goal.
- MIT's Heath Nilsen scored the Engineers' first goal of the game and the opening goal of the second quarter to cut the RIT lead to 8-1.
- RIT then reeled off eight straight second-quarter goals for a16-1 lead at halftime.
- Senior Marley Angus scored two goals and added an assist in the second, Commandant finished with a goal and an assist and Tillman as well as senior long-stick midfielder Taylor Jensen each scored.
- MIT's Liam Miller scored off an assist from Andy Shin :48 seconds into the third quarter to cut the Tigers' lead to 16-2.
- Bell, Pilcher and sophomore Seth Grottenthaler each scored in the third to make it 19-2, RIT.
- Tory Lentine scored for the Engineers with 1:47 remaining in the third (19-3).
- Senior Conor Bollin scored a pair of fourth-quarter goals and Grottenthaler scored one for a 22-3 final score.
GAME NOTES
- RIT fired 57 shots, 34 on net.
- RIT finished 31-of-33 on clearing attempts, won 16 face offs and scooped up 47 ground balls.
- RIT's defense held MIT's offense, ranked eighth in Division III Men's Lacrosse, to three goals.
- The Tigers also kept Division III's all-time leading goal scorer (Ryan Gebhardt) off the scoreboard for the second time in his 216 career games.
- 15 Tigers tallied at least one point.
- Pilcher and Angus finished with four points (3 G, 1 A).
- Quinn Commandant also tallied four points on two goals and two assists. Conor Bollin and Miles Tillman each recorded two goals apiece and handed out an assist.
- Mozrall finished with a goal and two assists and Seth Grottenthaler scored two goals.
- Senior Drew Hutchison made six saves in the first half to improve to 19-1 on the season.
- The defending Division III national champions are making their 12th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and 23rd overall appearance.
- RIT has reached the quarterfinals 17 times, played in 11 national semifinal games, and advanced to the national championship game in 2021, 2017 and 2013.
UP NEXT
RIT hosts Bowdoin in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday, May 21 at 12:00 P.M.