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Men's Lacrosse beats Bowdoin, 19-11 in NCAA Semifinals

Sun, May 19, 2024

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT junior Clifford Gaston totaled a career-high nine points and tied his career-high with seven goals to lead the Tigers to a 19-11 victory over Bowdoin in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Semifinals, Sunday, at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers led 4-3 after the first quarter, before outscoring the Polar Bears, 4-1 in the second quarter to lead 8-4 at halftime. RIT led 14-7 after the third quarter and held a 5-4 edge in the fourth quarter.

RIT (21-2) advances to the national championship game for the fifth time in program history, including the third time in the last four seasons, and will face Tufts in next Sunday's national championship game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Gaston and graduate student Jake Erickson each scored two goals in the Tiger's opening 4-0 run. Erickson's goal off an assist from senior Dylan Bruno with 7:36 remaining in the quarter gave RIT a four-goal advantage.
  • Bowdoin answered with a three-goal run, cutting RIT's lead to 4-3 on Matt Ward's goal late in the period.
  • RIT scored the first four goals of the second quarter, taking an 8-3 lead on senior Miles Tillman's first of two goals. Gaston tallied two goals and an assist in the quarter, while graduate student John Mozrall also scored.
  • Jason Lach scored for Bowdoin late in the half to cut the deficit to 8-4 at the break.
  • Graduate student Luke Pilcher tallied a man-up goal 11 seconds into the third quarter to extend RIT's lead to 9-4.
  • That started a five-goal RIT run, capped off by a goal from senior Kaden Brunson with 5:42 to play to give the Tigers a 13-4 lead.
  • Harp Lane scored off the ensuing face off to cut the Tiger's lead to 13-5 before Bruno's goal made it 14-5.
  • Oliver Bernstein and Matt Ward tallied back-to-back goals late in the third quarter and the Polar Bears scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter, cutting RIT's lead to 14-10 on Lach's goal with 10:56 to play.
  • Erickson scored a man-up goal from Brunson midway through the fourth to give RIT a 15-10 followed by back-to-back goals from Gaston to extend the Tiger's lead to 17-10.
  • Pilcher and Tillman each scored late in the game to make it 19-10 and Will Byrne scored inside the final 20 seconds to make it a 19-11 final.

GAME NOTES

  • RIT entered the weekend with the nation's top man-up offense, converting at a 59.4 percent rate, going 3-for-4, Sunday with the extra attacker.
  • Gaston (109 pts.) and Erickson (103 pts.) are the fourth and fifth Tigers, respectively, to surpass the 100-point mark in a season.
  • Gaston's first goal was the 150th of his career, moving him into sixth on RIT's career goals list. He is also currently tied for 10th on RIT's career scoring list with 224 points.
  • Pilcher tallied two goals and an assist and is two points shy of tying David Thering for second all-time in program history with 288 points to date.
  • Tillman and Dylan Bruno each scored two goals, while Brunson and Mozrall each had a goal and an assist.
  • Graduate student Allyn French won 15 faceoffs and had six ground balls, while senior Michael Grace caused two turnovers.
  • Sophomore goalie Alex Zborowski made 13 saves to improve to 20-2 this season.
  • RIT out-shot Bowdoin, 65-42, and went 25-of-25 on clears.
  • RIT was ranked No. 2 in the latest USILA Division III poll, while Bowdoin was No. 14.
  • RIT won back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, before falling to Tufts in last year's semifinals, 15-11.
  • RIT defeated Tufts, 16-11, earlier this season (Mar. 16) at the Mustang Classic in Maryland.