Game Day Preview: RIT Men's Lacrosse vs. St. Lawrence University Saints

The RIT men's lacrosse team faces a pivotal match-up with St. Lawrence with the Liberty League lead on the line.

It all comes down to this- RIT vs. St. Lawrence for the regular season Liberty League title and the top seed in next week's league tournament. There's a lot on the line when the third-ranked Tigers take on the No. 17-seeded Saints on Saturday.

The Tigers (13-2, 5-0) are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, their last loss coming against No. 1 SUNY Cortland on March 27. St. Lawrence (10-3, 5-0) suffered a three-game losing streak early in the season, but hasn’t lost since their game against No. 6 Middlebury on March 13.

Both teams blazed their way through Liberty League play, but with every different style. If you're looking for a strength-on-strength matchup, this is your kind of game.


St. Lawrence Saints

The Saints have been strong defensively all season, ranking in the top-20 nationally in defense with 6.38 goals allowed. Only two opponents have managed to score double-digit goals against St. Lawrence and they've only allowed 3.25 goals per game in their last four contests.

That strong defensive effort has masked a weak offense, which peaked with 12 goals in their win over Rensselaer last Saturday. The Saints rely heavily on freshman Jeremy Vautour for goals. Vautour has 23 on the season but only a single assist. Senior Davey Hovey leads St. Lawrence in scoring with 29 points on 8 goals and 21 assists.

Still, St. Lawrence has heated up as the season progressed, scoring in double figures in their past five games after a bizarre 4-3 win over Union. Junior Pierson Fowler has come on strong during that stretch, with six goals in the past two games.

Overall, St. Lawrence has a knack for getting involved in low-scoring games. They don't score a lot, but have limited the competition from doing so as well. More importantly, they're in the middle of an eight-game winning streak and playing some of their best lacrosse.


RIT Tigers

The Tigers have been locked into third in the USILA Division III Coaches poll for the second consecutive week, still looking up at a Cortland team that beat them in an epic double-overtime game. The Liberty League title is important, so the Tigers must avoid looking ahead to the NCAA tournament.

While St. Lawrence has been locked into a series of tight games with low scoring, RIT has been lighting up the scoreboard. The Tigers rank fifth in the nation in goals per game at 15.27, which is three points higher than St. Lawrence has scored in a single game.

RIT has managed to score 25 goals in three games this season, including a 25-3 beat down of Vassar and a 25-15 win over rival Nazareth. Scoring has come from all over with junior attacker Jack Krzyston leading the way with 63 points on 39 goals and 24 assists.

In fact, top goal scorers Kyle Aquin (42) and Krzyston have managed nearly as many goals (81) as St. Lawrence has as a team (83). The Tigers aren't slouches on defense either, not allowing any Liberty League opponent score more than seven goals in a game.

Their average margin of victory in league play has been over 10 goals per game. It's been a dominant season so far, but the Saints will represent their biggest challenge in the Liberty League.

Both teams have secured a home game in the tournament next weekend but home field advantage is still up for grabs. The Tigers are undefeated at home this season, which is added motivation to close out league play with a win on Saturday.

The game against St. Lawrence will be on the Turf Field at 12 pm on Saturday, April 27.

Follow our reporter, Steven Howe, on Twitter for live tweets during the game.

Author: Steven Howe