No. 3 in Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Men's Top 20, RIT is Red-Hot

Midweek games in the NESCAC set up some electric quarterfinals, and those games [mostly] did not disappoint. The regular-season finales of conferences across the nation did little to shake the foundation of any top teams, but they did bring a bit of finality to the party.

The reality is that the coming weeks will bring the end of seasons and careers across the landscape of Division III. We’re about to get in the cars for our last race, friends. Steel your reserves. Prepare for battle. It’s conference championship season. 

Atop the NESCAC is Tufts. The Jumbos wrapped up an unblemished regular season, the only undefeated team in Division III. While there was no shortage of offensive firepower, it felt like the faceoff battle was going to be critical here. Mason Kohn for Tufts and Ethan Barnard for Bowdoin are two of the best in the country. Kohn went 18-for-28, while Merrill Parker and Shane Molloy each took at least one faceoff as well, and Barnard went 18-for-38, taking every draw for Bowdoin. The firepower was certainly on display, too. Nearly 100 combined shots taken, forcing 18 saves from Connor Garzone and 14 from Robert Hobbs. An eight-goal second quarter opened up a lead for Tufts, as the Jumbos took a 13-7 lead into the half. Bowdoin outscored Tufts in the second half but couldn’t close the gap, as it was just too difficult to keep the Jumbos off the board. Jack Boyden had six points, bringing his regular season total to 116, to lead the Jumbos, who will face Amherst in the NESCAC semifinals.

The Middlebury Panthers’ excellent season continues. Outside of the Top 20 to start the season, Middlebury now is 7-1 against ranked opponents, including this win over Williams. This is now the Panthers’ winningest season since 2009, and the postseason is still to come. Middlebury got out to a fast start and never looked back. It ran off a four-goal run in the first to take a 4-1 lead and never trailed. It’s been a season of clean lacrosse for Middlebury, and this game was no exception. The Panthers were perfect clearing, committed just 14 turnovers and won ground balls by a wide margin despite faceoffs being even. Billy Curtis’ six-point day led the team, while Russell Thorndike had two goals.

Amherst and Bowdoin battled for an 18-16 final, but it was the final minutes of the fourth in which the game was decided. Bowdoin committed two massive turnovers late in the game, giving Amherst the opening it needed. A pair of late goals gave the Mammoths the lead and a spot in the NESCAC semis. Bob Gross had six goals, including the game winner, in what was his best performance of the season. 

Elsewhere in the nation, York has quietly gotten very hot since the calendar flipped to April. The Spartans have one loss in the last month, convincingly beating Denison and now Stevenson in what is now a six-game winning streak. York felt comfortably in control from the second quarter on. It went on a three-goal run to open the second, and continued to push their lead wider as the game went on. A significant faceoff edge thanks to Vinny Facciponti going 18-for-22 enabled York to keep up the pressure. Scoring was a team affair, as nobody had more than two goals. Ben Mayer and JD Townsend had three points.

RIT looks to be gearing up for another tournament run, but it had a battle with St. Lawrence first. This game was tighter than the 21-15 final score indicates. St. Lawrence threw everything it had at the Tigers. RIT, to its credit, absorbed all that pressure and fired back in its usual custom — by shooting a ton. Leading the charge was Luke Pilcher with nine goals on 17 shots. RIT put 34 of its 46 shots on cage, assaulting Michael Marinello all day. Judge Murphy battled valiantly and went blow for blow with RIT — he racked up seven points, while Ben and Stew Hutchinson combined for 10 — but the Tigers’ tsunami of weapons just kept coming. 

Dickinson took down Ursinus for their eighth straight win and hasn’t really played many close games in that stretch. The Red Devils got multi-goal games from six players and another huge day from Chris Brandau. They also secured a bye into the semifinals of the Centential tournament, where they will take on the winner of Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg. 

Finally, Haverford’s late-season charge hit the skids, as it fell in overtime to Swarthmore. Jacob Abraham made 21 saves and kept Haverford in it all day, as has been the story of late. The game was a battle, but Will Bernstein won the OT faceoff, despite struggling all afternoon, and Nolan Ohrman hit the winner just 39 seconds in the OT period, never giving Haverford a chance to win it. Swarthmore will face Gettysburg in the Centennial tournament, while Haverford’s season comes to an end.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III MEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Clarkson (11-4), Kenyon (14-1), Muhlenberg (11-5)

UPCOMING GAMES

No. 1 Tufts 5/6 vs. No. 7 Amherst (NESCAC SF)
No. 2 Salisbury 5/5 vs. Montclair State/Mary Washington (CLC SF)
No. 3 RIT 5/5 vs. Clarkson/No. 20 St. Lawrence (Liberty SF)
No. 4 Christopher Newport 5/5 vs. Stockton/Kean (Liberty SF)
No. 5 Middlebury 5/6 vs. No. 17 Williams (NESCAC SF)

No. 6 Dickinson 5/5 vs. F&M/Muhlenberg (Centennial SF)
No. 7 Amherst 5/6 vs. No. 1 Tufts (NESCAC SF)
No. 8 Gettysburg 5/5 vs. No. 9 Swarthmore (Centennial SF)
No. 9 Swarthmore 5/5 vs. No. 8 Gettysburg (Centennial SF)
No. 10 Denison 5/4 vs. Oberrlin (NCAC SF)

No. 11 Bowdoin Regular season complete
No. 12 York 5/3 vs. Widener/Messiah (MAC Commonwealth SF)
No. 13 Stevens 5/3 vs. Misericordia/FDU-Florham (MAC Freedom SF)
No. 14 Washington and Lee 5/2 vs. Shenandoah (ODAC QF)
No. 15 Cabrini 5/3 vs. Immaculata (AE SF)

No. 16 Lynchburg 5/4 vs. Roanoke/Randolph-Macon (ODAC SF)
No. 17 Williams 5/6 vs. No. 5 Middlebury (NESCAC SF)
No. 18 Union 5/5 at RPI (Liberty SF)
No. 19 Hampden-Sydney 5/4 vs. Shenandoah/W&L (ODAC SF)
No. 20 St. Lawrence 5/2 vs. Clarkson (Liberty 1st Rd)

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

RIT (no change)

If you’re a D-III team heading into the NCAA tournament, which team are you the most terrified  face? You’d be forgiven if you said Salisbury or Tufts — but RIT is right there in that same S-tier. It’s confounding how consistent the Tigers have been the last few years. Their ability to score off any and all mistakes is not what really sets them apart. Tufts and Salisbury do that as well. But what RIT does just a little bit better is scoring in settled sets. If the look isn’t there, the Tigers will use the shot clock in a way that feels like they’re gamifying the very concept of being dictated by passing seconds on an inconsequential screen. Luke Pilcher has been chucking goals into the back of the net like a freshman in the creek behind the end line after practice. It’s not exactly that easy for him, but how else do you explain his nine goals in RIT’s masterclass against St. Lawrence? 

NOT

Hampden-Sydney (-3)

If this were soccer, it would be a massive offensive output, but two goals won’t cut it in a lacrosse game. Hampden-Sydney put just 15 of 33 shots on net. It was also 0-for-5 on the power play. A big faceoff disadvantage didn’t help much, but the offense was stagnant against Lynchburg. Hampden-Sydney is still the ODAC’s No. 2 seed, so it doesn’t play until Thursday. Barring a major upset, it’ll take on Washington and Lee in the semis. It’ll need to put this performance in the rear view and be ready to produce by then. 

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1: Feb. 13, 2023

• Week 2: Feb. 20, 2023

• Week 3: Feb. 27, 2023

• Week 4: March 6, 2023

• Week 5: March 13, 2023

• Week 6: March 20, 2023

• Week 7: March 27, 2023

• Week 8: April 3, 2023

• Week 9: April 10, 2023

• Week 10: April 17, 2023

• Week 11: April 24, 2023