Men's Lacrosse to face Tufts in NCAA Championship

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The RIT men's lacrosse team takes on Tufts in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship, Sunday at 1:00 p.m., at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
The Tigers are making their 25th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and 14th straight. RIT is making its fifth appearance in the national championship game and the third time in four years, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

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QUICK HITS

• The Tigers defeated Bowdoin, 19-11, in last Sunday's NCAA Semifinal to punch their ticket to the National Championship game for the fifth time in program history and third time in four years.
• RIT is currently ranked first nationally in man-up offense converting 64.5% of its chances, first in assists (277), first in shooting percentage (37.1%) and third in scoring offense with 18.39 goals per game. The Tigers are fifth in clearing percentage (89.7%) and second in ground balls (920).
• The Tigers were ranked second in the final USILA Division III Coaches Poll and third in the Inside Lacrosse Division III Poll.
• With its win last Sunday, RIT now has 21 wins. It is the eighth time the Tigers have won 20+ games since 2010 and third straight season.

NCAA SEMIFINAL RECAP

• RIT junior attack Clifford Gaston tallied a career-high nine points, tying his career-best with seven goals and two assists while graduate student attack Jake Erickson tallied three goals and two assists and seniors Dylan Bruno and Miles Tillman and graduate student Luke Pilcher each scored two goals to the Tigers to a 19-11 win over Bowdoin in the NCAA Semifinal.
• RIT led 4-3 after the first quarter and 8-4 at halftime. The Tigers outscored Bowdoin, 6-3 in the third quarter and 5-4 in the fourth, scoring five straight goals in the final frame.
• Senior defenseman Michael Grace led the Tigers with a pair of caused turnovers and graduate student Allyn French won a season-high 15 draws and led RIT with six ground balls.
• Sophomore goalie Alex Zborowski made 13 saves to improve to 19-2 on the season.

NCAA QUARTERFINAL RECAP

• RIT trailed Christopher Newport, 7-3 after the first quarter, but outscored the Captains 16-8 over the final three quarters, including 11-5 in the second half, to win 19-15 in Saturday's quarterfinal.
• Erickson led the Tigers with eight points on four goals and four assists, tallying two goals and an assist in the fourth quarter. Pilcher tallied four goals and three assists, while graduate student John Mozrall scored four goals and added a pair of assists. Senior goalie Kyle Burbank made three saves in the second half to get the win in net.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• RIT is 19-1 when leading after the first half and 2-0 when trailing after the opening 30 minutes.
• The Tigers are 13-1 when scoring the first goal this season, and 7-1 when their opponents strike first.
• RIT has scored 20+ goals nine times, tying the program record with 30 goals against Vassar (March 30).
• The Tigers have averaged 21.0 goals per game during this year' NCAA Tournament, outscoring their opponents 84-51.

RIT'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• This is RIT's 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and 14th straight dating back to 2010.
• The Tigers are 45-22 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, including a 39-11 record since 2010.
• RIT has reached the quarterfinals 16 times, including seven straight seasons and 13 national semifinal appearances including four straight seasons from 2021-24.
• The Tigers are making their fifth appearance in the national championship game and the third time in four years, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP

• RIT won a share of its 12th straight Liberty League regular season title. The Tigers finished with a 16-1 record, including a 6-1 conference mark.
• The Tigers recorded an 8-0 record at home, 2-0 on a neutral field and 6-1 away from home. RIT won its first seven games, including wins over No. 12 Washington & Lee and No. 6 Tufts at the Mustang Classic.
• After a loss at RPI (March 23), the Tigers finished the regular season, 8-0 with wins at No. 3 St. Lawrence and home against No. 9 Union to close out the regular season.

2024 USILA ALL-AMERICANS

• RIT placed 10 players on the 2024 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-American.
• Senior Michael Grace was the William C. Stiles Memorial Outstanding Defenseman Award winner as well as a First Team selection.
• Junior Clifford Gaston joined Grace on the first team, while graduate student Jake Erickson was a second team pick.
• Graduate student Luke Pilcher, graduate student John Mozrall, senior Caiden Perry, graduate student Tanner Winklemann, graduate student Allyn French, senior Seth Grottenthaler and sophomore Alex Zborowski were honorable mention selections.

ABOUT RIT

• RIT has the top man-up offense in Division III, converting 49-of-76 of its chances (64.5%).
• The Tigers are first in assists (279), assists per game (12.13), points (702) and points per game (30.52), and are third in scoring averaging 18.39 goals per game.
• Gaston leads RIT with a career-high 109 points on 73 goals and 36 assists, each career-bests. He is tied for second in Division III with a team-high 14 man-up tallies, tied for sixth in points and ninth in goals.
• Erickson is second in scoring with a career-best 103 points and is tied for 10th nationally with 55 assists and tied for tenth in points.
• Pilcher is third with 93 points (63g, 30a), while senior Kaden Brunson is fourth with 52 points (30g, 22a).
• RIT allows 10.30 goals per game while causing 7.8 turnovers per contest.
• The Tigers have killed 44-of-68 penalties (64.7%) and won 54.7 percent (402-of-735) of their face-offs. RIT is second nationally with 300 saves and fifth clearing the ball at 89.7 percent and second with 920 ground balls.
• Zborowski is 19-2 with a 9.93 goals against average and a .572 save percentage.
• Michael Grace leads the Tigers with 21 caused turnovers, while]Tanner Winklemann is second with 16 caused turnovers and senior Jamie Hunt is third with 14. French has won 249-of-441 face offs and leads the team with 137 ground balls.

RIT VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• RIT is 10-2 against ranked opponents in 2024.
• The Tigers began the year with a 22-8 win at No. 14 Denison, followed by an 11-10 win at No. 10 York.
• RIT defeated No. 10 Washington & Lee and No. 3 Tufts at the Mustang Classic and beat No. 5 St. Lawrence. RIT won back-to-back games against No. 9 Union.
• RIT defeated No. 10 Babson in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, No. 6 Christopher Newport in the NCAA Quarterfinals and No. 14 Bowdoin in the NCAA Semifinals.
• The Tiger's two losses against a ranked opponent came against RPI (March 23; May 5).

2024 ALL-LIBERTY HONOREES

• RIT had 10 players named to the 2024 Liberty League All-Conference Team.
• Grace was a First Team selection and the Defensive Player of the Year.  Gaston and Mozrall joined Grace on the first team.
• Erickson, Pilcher, senior Seth Grottenthaler, Perry and Winkleman were second team selections, while  French and Zborowski were honorable mention picks.

LIBERTY LEAGUE DOMINANCE

• RIT is 77-4 in Liberty League regular season play since joining the conference in 2012.
• The Tigers enjoyed a 31-game conference winning streak from 2012-2017, losing 9-6 at Clarkson on March 25, 2017.
• RIT won 27 straight conference games from 2017-2022, losing 13-12 at RPI on April 2, 2022.
• The Tigers won 13 straight Liberty League regular season titles and 12 of the last 13 Liberty League Tournament titles.
• RIT is 23-1 in Liberty League Tournament games.
• The Tiger's 15-14 loss to RPI in the 2024 Liberty League title game was the first home loss to a Liberty League opponent since joining the league in 2012, and the team's first conference tournament loss since a 12-9 loss at Ithaca in the 2008 Empire 8 title game.

BALANCED ATTACK...NO REALLY, WE DO

• RIT features three players with 90 or more points, four players with 50 or more points, six with 40 or more and eight with 30 or more points.
• Twenty Tigers have tallied 10 or more goals, including five players with 20 or more goals.

PILCHER IN RAREFIED AIR

• Pilcher is third at RIT in career scoring (293 pts.), second in career goals (206) and tied for 13th in career assists (86).
• He is the second player in program history to score 200 career goals, joining Ryan Lee who scored 237 goals from 2014-17.
• He is one point shy of tying RIT Athletics Hall of Famer, David Thering for second in career scoring and to be the second player in program history to reach 300 career points.

GASTON ON THE RISE

• Gaston is the first Tiger to score 90+ points in a season since Kyle Killen recorded 103 points (86g, 17a) in 2018.
• Gaston is the fourth player in program history to surpass 100 points in a season (Ryan Lee, Kyle Killen Josh Molinari).
• He is tied for 10th all-time in scoring (224 pts.) and is sixth all-time in goals (157).

JOHNNY "MOZZ"

• Mozrall is a two-time USILA All-American, including first team accolades in 2023.
• Mozrall is tied for 23rd in program history with 162 career points (60g, 102a).
• He is one of 11 players in program history to reach 100 career assists.
• Mozrall is one assist shy of tying Craig Whipple for 10th in career assists (103) and three points shy of tying Keith Vadas for 22nd in career scoring (185 pts.).
• Mozrall has 11 points on six goals and seven assists in four NCAA Tournament games in 2024, including four goals and two assists against CNU in NCAA Quarters.

ERICKSON FILES

• Erickson transferred into RIT at the start of the year after a successful career at Ithaca College from 2020-23.
• While at Ithaca, Erickson was a three-time USILA Honorable Mention All-American selection and three-time First Team All-Liberty League selection, accumulating 191 career points (92g, 99a), including a team-best 62 points in 2023.
• Fast forward to 2024 and Erickson is second on the team with a career-high 103 points (Tied for 61st in career scoring), including 55 assists (Tied for 26th all-time).
• Erickson is the fifth player in program history to surpass 100 points in a season.
• He tallied seven goals and six assists last weekend, including three goals and two assists against Bowdoin in the semifinals.

THE "ZEEBS" FILE

• Zborowski did not see any time in net his first season in 2023.
• This year he has emerged as the starter, recording a 19-2 record, earning USILA Honorable Mention All-American and Honorable Mention All-Liberty accolades.
• Zborowski made a season-high 19 saves against Washington & Lee at the Mustang Classic and 13 saves against Bowdoin in last weekend's NCAA Semifinal.

BAND OF BROTHERS

• RIT features two sets of brothers on the 2024 team. Dylan Bruno is a senior midfielder, while younger brother Chase, is a sophomore midfielder. Michael and Connor Finneran are senior midfielders who are identical twins.

BROTHERS FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

• Luke Pilcher is a two-time USILA All-American selection, earning honorable mention honors in 2022 and first team accolades in 2023. His brother, Dan MacRae played at RIT from 2009-10 and was an honorable mention selection in 2009 and a third team All-American in 2019.

RIT VS. TUFTS

• Tufts holds a 4-5 record in nine previous meeting between the two programs.
• Sunday will be the first time these two teams have met in the NCAA Championship Game.
• The Tigers are 2-4 against the Jumbos in national semifinals and 1-1 in quarterfinals.
• RIT defeated Tufts, 16-11 on March 16 at the Mustang Classic in Owings Mills, MD.