CARLISLE, Pa. - The four-time defending Centennial Conference champion Dickinson men's lacrosse team will head to Tiger Stadium this weekend on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology just two wins away from advancing to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game next weekend. The 11th-ranked Red and White will begin their quest on Saturday afternoon at 3pm when they battle ninth-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. That game will follow the matchup between the host and third-ranked RIT versus 13th-ranked SUNY Cortland which will start at 12pm.
Game Information
Opponent – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers
Date - Saturday, May 17th
Time - 3:00 p.m.
Location - Rochester, N.Y. (Tiger Stadium)
Media Links (All Games) - Live Stats | Live Video | Live Video (Sun)
Tickets
Tickets will have to be purchased at the gate to Tiger Stadium on the day of the game. Prices will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and children (3 & older).
Weather Advisory!
Saturday has the potential for some isolated storms and we want all of RED DEVIL NATION to be out in full support and voice as they were last weekend in Salisbury, Maryland! Umbrellas will be permitted inside the stadium, but must not be infringing upon another spectator's view of the action.
Inside the Devils Den (15-5, 7-1 Centennial)
Heartstopping Weekend in Maryland
Dickinson advanced to the national quarterfinals with a pair of heart-stopping overtime wins in the second and third rounds of the tournament this past weekend over Denison University and Salisbury University. First, on Saturday, the Red and White took a 7-4 edge into the fourth quarter against Denison before the Big Red tallied three straight markers to bring the game even forcing overtime (7-7). Following an opening faceoff win by Ben Trucksess to start the extra period, the Devils needed just 40-seconds for Charlie Baughan to find Luke Whalen at the top of the zone and ripped a shot to the back of the net for the win. Then, less than 24-hours later Dickinson got third quarter tallies from Carter Wilmot, Ramsey Huggins and Landen Hyatt (Ethan Gess assist) to turnaround a 6-4 halftime deficit into a 7-6 edge entering the fourth. The Devils would stretch the lead out to 10-8 on strikes by Preston Boyd (Capp Reynolds assist), Hyatt (Whalen assist) and Huggins (Tommy Baldini assist). However, the Sea Gulls battled back with two goals inside the final three minutes to draw even at 10-10 leading to another overtime contest for DC. After the Sea Gulls, claimed the opening faceoff they unleashed four shots at cage, but none could solve Rocco Bognet. That allowed the Red and White to head back down the field and get Whalen in a one-on-one battle where he was able to spin away from his defender and stashed the rock past Nicholas Ransom for the win.
Regular Season Overview
Dickinson began the season with an 11-6 home setback to 13th-ranked Stevens, but then ripped off three straight wins against University of Scranton (7-2), Roanoke College (14-6) and Kenyon College (18-5). Then, some injuries took a toll on the Red and White for a bit as they were tripped up by a trio of nationally-ranked foes in #19 Stevenson University (10-16), #3 Rochester Institute of Technology (7-24) and #13 Washington and Lee University (8-11). However, coming out of that brutal stretch the Devils collected four consecutive conference victories over Washington College (15-8), McDaniel College (15-5), #13 Swarthmore College (11-9) and Ursinus College (17-6). Then, in one of the most anticipated games not only of the conference season, but in all of DIII lacrosse when the Red and White visited Gettysburg College for the top spot in the conference on the line. In one of the best games of the year that was "nip and tuck" all day long Whalen scored with a minute left to tie the game, before Ethan Kessler claimed an overtime winner to get the Bullets past DC (12-13). That setback just seemed to spark the Devils as they ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak versus St. Mary's College of Maryland (14-11), Franklin and Marshall College (9-8), Haverford College (15-5) and Muhlenberg College (11-7).
Four-Peat Completed
This year's group of Red Devils became the first school to post a four-peat in the Centennial Conference since Gettysburg College ran off six straight titles from 2004-2009.
All-Conference Honors
The Red and White had seven players named to the All-Centennial Conference squad as the senior duo of Evan Karetsos and Ben Trucksess were accompanied by sophomore Luke Whalen on First Team. Junior Landen Hyatt along with sophomore Jack Deady were tabbed for Second Team, while junior Sam Bunten and rookie Tommy Baldini grabbed Honorable Mention.
Dynamic Duo
The duo of Gess and Hyatt have combined for 98 points on the campaign. Hyatt leads the team in goals with 45 and has chipped in four assists, while Gess has 21 markers with a team-high 28 helpers.
The Rest of the Attack
Dickinson has five other players that have tallied ten or more goals on the campaign led by Huggins (30) followed by Luke Whalen (29), Baldini (12) and Cullen Mulhern as well as Matt Thurston (10). The group of Hagen McTear, Owen Porter, Joey Wood, Baughan and Boyd have combined for 32 tallies. For the year, 31 different players have found the back of the net for the Red and White.
Sharing the Rock
While Gess and Huggins have been responsible for most of the Devils assists this season combining for 40, the group of Mac Childs, Baldini, Baughan, Mulhern, Trucksess and Whalen have each given out five or more.
Strong Defensive Backbone
The Dickinson defense has been a main reason that the Red and White find themselves this far along in the NCAA Tournament as five players have forced double-digit turnovers, including a trio with 20 or more, Karetsos ranks tops on the team and the conference with 45, while Ethan Ferrant has added 25, Deady has picked up 21 and Capp Reynolds has added 20. Ackerman and Huggins have caused 18 and 10 respectively.
Strong at the Dot
Trucksess has been the main faceoff man for the Red and White all year going 258-of-423 at the X for a .610 winning percentage. The 258 wins rank tops in the Centennial Conference as well. The pair of Andrew Atkins and Ryan Backus have chipped in as well going 9-of-21 and 8-of-33 respectively.
The Keepers of the Cage
Bognet continues to be outstanding for Dickinson in his first season as the Devils primary starter after picking up 20 total saves last weekend against Denison and Salisbury. On the year, he holds a 12-5 record with a .498 save percentage and a 8.95 goals-against average. First-year Josef Zyngier appeared in four games making two starts going 2-0 with a 6.70 save percentage and a . 548 save percentage, while Ben Tompkins has played nearly 70 minutes over five games recording 13 stops.
Inside the Factory (16-3, 5-2 Liberty League)
RPI comes into the weekend winners of two straight knocking off Williams College (14-10) and Wesleyan University (13-7) after being defeated in the Liberty League Semifinals by a score of 7-9. They currently ranked inside the Top-10 nationally in scoring defense allowing just 7.58 goals per game to rank fifth. The Engineers bring a strong offensive attack into the game with six 20-plus goal scorers led by Easton Morse with 47 followed by: Tyler Ruffini (36), Zach Swanson (24), Erik Ojert (23), Sean Smith (22) and Evan Whatley (20). The pair of Cooper Roman and Sean Mullen have collected 13 and 10 respectively. Angelo Venuto is their best faceoff man going 275-407 for a .676 win percentage, in addition to being their top groundball man at 193. Nine players have racked up 20 or more loose balls, with Joseph Perry (51), Jack Greene (45) and Ojert (38) leading that group. Defensively, Nick Biava heads the unit forcing a team-high 26 turnovers, while Green and Perry have caused 19 and 18 respectively. Perry has started every game for the Engineers going 16-3 between the pipes with a .588 save percentage allowing 7.58 goals per game. RPI is coached by Dickinson alum and former Red Devil men's lacrosse player for head coach Dave Webster, Scott Hackett-Dalgliesh in his sixth season.
The Dragons Den (19-2, 7-0 State University of New York Athletic Conference)
SUNY Cortland comes into the quaterfinal round of the tournament after beating both Illinois Wesleyan (23-8) and York College of Pennsylvania (10-6), following their 19-9 win over SUNY Oneonta in the SUNYAC title game. Cortland ranks inside the Top-10 nationally for scoring offense (5th - 17.8), scoring defense (3rd - 7.38), scoring margin (2nd - 10.43), man-up offense (4th - .515) and caused turnovers per game (1st - 14.5). The Red Dragons will rely mainly on their defense to get the job done as they allow just over seven goals per game, but does have a solid offense as well with seven 20-plus goal scorers and three others with double-digits. Sam Rothman is the top goal-getter with 56, followed by Sean Kavanagh (47), Klay Stuver (38), Ryan Scanlon (33), Kole Stuver (28) and Liam Burns and Nick Stoecker (25). Teams this weekend will have to contend with a multitude of faceoff men as three different players have taken over 100 faceoffs for Cortland. Nicky Miltenberger paces the pack with a .538 percentage winning 133-of-247. Aidan McHugh and Jack O'Brien have combined for 129 wins out of 279 attempts. Not surprisingly Miltenberger leads the Dragons in grounballs with 72, while his next closest chasers are Alex Thrasher (62), Tucker Macknik (61), Christian Lembo (45) and Dino Bowen (42). Defensively, the duo of Lembo and Thrasher have each forced 30 giveaways, followed by Macknik (28), Bowen (26) and AJ Surian (20). Travis Wagner has started 19 of 21 games in the crease for Cortland finishing with a 17-2 record on an 8.07 goals-against average to go along with a .594 save percentage. The Red Dragons are led by Lelan Rogers in his seventh season.
The Tigers Pen (20-1, 7-0 Liberty League)
RIT enters the tournament winners of 13 straight after toppling Ohio Northern (20-3) and St. John Fisher (17-13) last weekend in the Second and Third Rounds of the NCAA Tournament at home. The Tigers sit inside the Top-10 nationally for both man-up offense (9th - .468) and clearing percentage (2nd - .919). RIT has a solid offensive trio that will need to be contained for two days as Clifford Gaston leads the team with 64 goals, while the group of Ethan Harkins (40), Nate Senez (29), Chase Bruno (27), Seth Grottenthaler (25) and Ian Dinga (24) have all added over 20 markers. Six other members of their attack have recorded ten or more tallies. The Tigers have relied on a tandem at the "X" with Allyn French going 161-263 (.612), while Nick Farrell has posted a .515 percentage thanks to winning 121 of 235 draws taken. French leads the team in groundballs with 72 which heads a group of six players with 40 or more: Farrell (55), Drew Leahy (50), Logan Fletcher and Alex Zborowski (49) and Gaston (42). Fletcher forced a team-high 27 turnovers, followed by Leahy (18), Hunter FitzGibbons (16), Adam Wong (14), Joe Holenstein (11) and Jamie Hunt (10). Zborowski has started in 20 of 21 games he has played in going 20-1 with a .582 save percentage and allowing 8.08 goals per game. The Tigers are led by Jake Coon in his 16th season.
Rest of the Weekend
The winners of the two games will square off back at Tiger Stadium on Sunday afternoon at 3pm for the semifinal with a spot in the national title on the line.
