EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – RIT senior attackman Quinn Commandant totaled three goals and an assist while senior goalie Drew Hutchison made 16 saves to lead the Tigers to a 12-10 victory over Liberty League opponent Union in the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship game.
It was the first time in NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse tournament history that the opponents in the title game were from the same conference.
Union came out the gate with a strong opening half and it all started thanks to Peter Burnes, who opened the scoring with a man-up tally 2:17 into the contest. RIT knotted the score soon after, but the Dutchmen held the Tigers off the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter. Union got goals from Davis and Jack Donahue in the final minute to take a 3-1 lead.
RIT scored the first goal of the second stanza, but the Dutchmen responded with four straight goals to take the largest lead of the game for either side at 7-2 with 4:49 left in the first half. Soon after, RIT started to mount a comeback when midfielder John Mozrall scored back-to-back goals to bring the Tigers within three, 7-4, heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, it was all RIT (22-1) as the Tigers outscored the Dutchmen, 4-0, including two-straight goals by Commandant which gave RIT its first lead of the game heading into the fourth (8-7, RIT).
The RIT duo of midfielder Marley Angus and midfielder Ryan Barnable opened the fourth quarter with consecutive goals to extend the RIT run to 8-0 for a 10-7 lead with 11:48 left in regulation.
Union broke its nearly 25-minute scoreless drought with 11:26 on the clock, before Tiger junior attackman Luke Pilcher notched a man-up tally at 8:28 to push the Tigers' lead back to three, 11-8. The Dutchmen scored with 7:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, however RIT midfielder Seth Grottenthaler responded by scoring on the run at 5:39 for a 12-9 lead which proved insurmountable for the Dutchmen.
RIT's Hutchison was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player after helping hold off Union during the comeback. His performance was highlighted by five saves in the third quarter and he totaled 16 saves in the win.
GAME NOTES
- It was the first time in Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament history that two programs from the same conference met in the title game.
- Four Liberty League teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament this season; RIT earned the conference's automatic qualifier while Union, St. Lawrence (third round) and RPI (second round) were all awarded at-large bids.
- Union finished with a 54-35 advantage in shots.
- RIT only trailed at halftime on one other occasion this season, falling behind, 7-4, in its 13-12 loss to RPI (Apr. 2). The Tigers' five-goal, second quarter deficit was its largest of the season.
- Offensively for the Tigers, Pilcher and Barnable each scored a goal and an assist. Angus notched two goals and two assists, while Mozzrall also added a pair of assists to his two goals for four points.
- RIT midfielder Jimmy Spillane won 13 draws, including 7-of-13 in the second half, while picking up a team-high nine ground balls.
- For Union, in the team's first national championship appearance, Burnes tied for the game-high four points on two goals and two assists to lead the Dutchmen (18-3). Brian Davis, Hayden Frey, Kieran McGovern all had two goals apiece, while Keaton McCann added a goal and two assists for three points.
- Dutchmen goalie Dan Donahue finished the day with 12 saves.
- The Tigers finished 23-of-25 on clears and went 2-for-2 on man-up opportunities. Union was 18-of-18 on clears and 2-for-4 on man-up opportunities.
- RIT is the sixth team in Division III history to win back-to-back national championships and the first since Salisbury (2016-2017).
QUOTABLE FROM RIT
RIT Head Coach Jake Coon:
"Wow, that was another incredible game. We had a really tough start today, and I think our guys showed what they've done all year – they just kept grinding and playing with a lot of heart, hustle, grit and toughness."
"We stuck together all day. We talked about it a bunch at halftime - just keep grinding and chip away, and we did a nice job of that throughout the course of the game. I have to give Union a lot of credit. They're a fantastic, well-coached team, but I'm proud of our guys for sticking with the plan, making some adjustments and getting the job done in the end."
"I've also got to give [Hutchison] a ton of credit. He bailed us out on a ton on some really good looks from Union in the first half."
On the support from the Rochester community:
"I've been in Rochester now a majority of my life, so I'm a Rochesterian through and through at this point. It's an unbelievable lacrosse community. They give us a ton of support, whether its youth, high school, or whatever. They give us a ton of support, and certainly our AD Jackie Nicholson, our whole athletic department and our president have given us what we need to succeed. We feel supported, and I'm just really happy for the entire community that we can bring home a second championship. It feels great."
When the winning feeling will sink in:
"When the final bell rung there, I think it was immediate. You don't get these opportunities very often, and you'd better take advantage. We talked about that a lot, that this doesn't come around every year, and don't expect it to. Certainly it's a goal of ours, but you need to take it all in and cherish the moment. I'm just super excited. I know we talked a bit about the legacy piece and leaving our mark as the sixth team ever in Division III to win back-to-back titles, so it's incredible to be a part of that small group of fantastic lacrosse programs."
Senior Goalie Drew Hutchison
"Our whole D core is awesome. They let up the shots that they know I can save, and when we break down, we always reset. We're not worried about the next play. We know we're going to make stops, and, especially in the first half when they came up on us, we just stayed positive at our end and knew that the offense would take over."
Senior attackman Quinn Commandant
"We want to get up-and-down, and not being able to do that early in the game kind of hurt us a little bit. But as we got going, Hutchy was getting the ball out real quick, and we were able to get out and run. (Senior midfielder) Pent Eistrat and Andrew Powlin, along with our LSMs and other D-middies did a very good job of breaking out of the hole real quick, and we were able to push in transition and score a couple goals."