Salisbury and RIT, the de facto top seeds in the NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse tournament, have gone the distance and will meet in the championship game next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

The defending NCAA champion Sea Gulls (21-1) held off a late Denison comeback to defeat the Big Red 12-11, while the Tigers (20-2) trounced Wesleyan 22-9 in their respective semifinals Sunday. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two perennial Division III powers.

Salisbury led Denison by five after Nick Garabino (five goals) scored with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter.

The Big Red answered with a three-goal run bridging the third and fourth quarters and then pulled within one when Hannibal George picked off a clearing pass by Sea Gulls goalie Colin Reymann and scored from 40 yards out to make it 12-11 with 2:50 left in regulation.

Denison had a chance to tie it on the final possession, but Salisbury defenseman Aaron Leeds picked off a pass by the Big Red’s Liam Rooney and cleared the ball to ice the victory.

RIT needed no such late-game heroics. Seniors Chad Levick (seven goals, three assists) and Ryan Lee (five goals, four assists) combined for 19 points. Lee, RIT’s all-time scoring leader, now has a school-record 110 points (64 goals, 46 assists) this season.

The Tigers shot 22-for-40 and limited an equally potent Wesleyan offense, forcing 17 turnovers. RIT scored the first five goals and never looked back, advancing to just its second-ever national championship game. The Tigers lost to Stevenson in the 2013 final.

RIT has outscored its four NCAA tournament opponents 83-34.

Limestone Weathers the Storm

Facing a tough opponent and Mother Nature, Limestone overcame both to advance to the NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse championship game for the fourth consecutive year. The Saints, the top seed in the South, defeated third-seeded Tampa 12-10 on Sunday and will play Merrimack for the national title next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Limestone led 10-7 before a pair of lighting delays to start the fourth quarter. The Spartans, who scored two man-up goals before the break, pulled within 10-8 and then 11-9 on Conor Whipple goals. But the Saints had an answer each time. Whipple fed Jake Schmidt for a goal that made it 12-10 with 1:07 remaining, but Tampa would get no closer.

Charlie Sheehan scored three goals and added two assists for Limestone (20-1), which will make its 11th national title game appearance and fifth in seven seasons under coach J.B. Clarke.